Susan Parnell

Susan Parnell serves as Deputy Principal Investigator with PEAK Urban and holds a Chair in Human Geography at the University of Bristol, while also maintaining her position as Emeritus Professor at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town. Her academic journey began with research in urban historical geography, focusing on racial residential segregation and colonialism's impact on urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa, before shifting after 1994 to contemporary urban policy research. Her current work spans local government, poverty reduction, and urban environmental justice, combining academic research with practical policy engagement. She has held prestigious positions including Leverhulme Visiting Professor at UCL, Emeka Anyaoku Visiting Chair at the University of London, and visiting professor at LSE Cities. Her extensive publication record includes over 150 peer-reviewed works, with recent books such as "Building a Capable State: Post Apartheid Service Delivery" and co-edited volumes "The Urban Planet" and "Implementing the SDGs in African Cities." Beyond academia, she actively engages with local and national governments, international donors, and serves on boards of NGOs focused on poverty alleviation, sustainability, and gender equity in post-apartheid South Africa, while also contributing to national and international advisory research panels on urban reconstruction.