Architecture scholars awarded prestigious Social Sciences fellowships

Global Urban Politics Professor Michele Acuto and Urban Planning Professor Nicholas Phelps from the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning (ABP) have been welcomed as new fellows with the Academy of Social Sciences (ACSS) in the United Kingdom.

New Fellows are recognised, after an independent peer review process, for the excellence and impact of their work and their wider contributions to the social sciences for public benefit.

Professor Michele Acuto, Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cities and Associate Dean (Research) in ABP, is a prominent figure in the field of urban studies, both in Australia and in the UK as much as internationally. He has been at the cutting edge of linking social scientific work with practical urban policymaking.

As an innovative social scientist, Professor Acuto has fostered this impact-oriented approach in academia as a major advocate of connecting urban studies across the social sciences and beyond.

Professor Nicholas Phelps, Chair of Urban Planning and Associate Dean (International) in ABP, is recognised internationally both as an economic geographer and urban planning expert with contributions to both geographical and planning theory.

As an interdisciplinary academic, his contributions to urban planning highlight the contemporary challenges of mobilising the imagination for, and the challenges of, planning sustainable communities at scale and speed.

The ACSS's Fellowship includes distinguished individuals from various sectors of social sciences. Through leadership, scholarship, research, policymaking and practice, these fellows have significantly contributed to understanding and addressing society's toughest challenges.