Maryam Nastar

Research Interests

• Development and application of analytical frameworks and tools to explore sustainability challenges
• Social and political aspects of sustainability transitions
• Causal linkages between (in)equality and (un)sustainability
• Resource mobilization, practices of citizenship and social movements
• Thematic areas:  water, heatwaves, urban development, governance, politics of sustainability, critical realism

Research Projects

• (2023 – 2027) Main applicant - (Mal) Adaptation to extreme urban heat: At what cost, to whom?, funded by FORMAS 
• (2019 - 2021) Collaborated in research activities of the DICE project, “Recasting the Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change Extremes, funded by Formas
• (2017 - 2020) Main applicant - “A critical realist approach to interdisciplinary research”, a postdoc fellowship funded by LUCID 
• (2015 - 2020) Co-Applicant - The T-Group project (Experimenting with practical transition groundwater management strategies for the urban poor in Sub Saharan Africa), an UPGro (Unlocking the Potential of Groundwater for the Poor) Consortium Grant, funded by Dept. for Int’l Development, UK Gov.; Economic and Social Research Council
• (2014 - 2015) Collaborated in editing the synthesis report of the research project GLOBIS “Globalization Informed by Sustainable Development”, funded by the EU’s FP-7
• (2007 - 2009) Collaborated in planning, designing and programming a proof-of-concept participatory water management game in the 6th work package of the MATISSE project “Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment”, one of the EU’s FP-6 programmes

Background

• Maryam Nastar obtained her Ph.D. in Sustainability Science from Lund University (2014) focusing on how urban water regimes reproduce inequality in access to water where she conducted fieldwork in low-income areas of Johannesburg in South Africa and notified-slums of Hyderabad in India. For more information about her dissertation click here. 
• She received her Master’s degree in environmental studies and sustainability science from Lund University. Her master’s thesis examined agent interactions in managing water resources in the Ebro River Basin in Spain. This was followed by her work as a project assistant in MATISSE (Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment), one of the EU’s FP-6 research projects.

Professional Roles & Skills

• Co-Director of PhD Studies at LUCSUS, 2020
• Member of Gender and Diversity Committee, at LUCSUS, 2019-2020
• Member of the Civil Society and Sustainability Studies (CIVICSUS) advanced study group at Pufendorf IAS, 2018-2019
• Co-PI of the T-GroUp project, planned and managed research activities incl. scientific leadership, fieldwork set-ups and dissemination strategies, 2015-2017

• Specialized in developing interdisciplinary frameworks and conceptual models in relation to sustainability transitions in urban & peri-urban settings and governance of public services in the global South context
• Experienced in conducting fieldworks and working with communities, civil society groups, international scholars and governmental officials in various cities of India, Iran, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa
• Experienced in working with content management systems (e.g. WordPress and Liferay), agent-based modeling tools (e.g. Anylogic and RePast S), Eclipse, Object Oriented concepts and Java programming

Teaching Activities

• Supervised more than 30 successful Master’s theses at Lund University International Master's Programme in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science (LUMES), 2011- present
• Lectured in “Integrated Water Resources Management: International Aspects”, a MSc course at LTH, Lund University, 2021 - present
• Coordinated & lectured in “Sustainable Development and Natural Resources Management, and lectured (2018 - 2021) in “Urban and Rural Development & Livelihoods”, both MSc courses at Lund University Int’l. Development and Management programme (LUMID), 2017 - present
• ectured in “Sustainable Development from a Global, Regional and Local Perspective”, and lectured in  Urban Social Geography, Level 2 (2021), both BSc courses at Human Geography Department, Lund University, 2017 - present
• Coordinated (2019 - 2021) & lectured in “Water and Sustainability”, coordinated (2019) & lectured in “Urban and Rural Systems and Sustainability”, “Governance of Sustainability” and “Sustainability Science”, all MSc courses at LUMES, 2009 - present
• Designed, coordinated & lectured in the PhD course “Niches in Transition Arenas” 3 ECTS, at the Linneaus Center LUCID at Lund University, 2016
• Designed, coordinated & lectured in the RLC PhD course “Critical Urban Theory: Citizenship, Marginalities, Livelihood Struggles and Innovations in Practice” 10 ECST, in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), in a format of two modules in Mumbai and Lund, 2015 - 2016
• Co-organized the PhD course “A Critical Perspective on Contemporary Water Governance Approaches” at the Linneaus Center LUCID at Lund University, 2010
• Co-organized and lectured in the PhD courses “Sustainable Urban Planning and Development” & “Sustainable Development – Conflicts and Solutions” at the Swedish Institute, 2008-2009

Affiliated Networks

• Right Livelihood College, through organizing the PhD course “Critical Urban Theory: Citizenship, Marginalities, Livelihood Struggles and Innovations in Practice”, 10 ECST, in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). More info here.
• Universitas 21, through organizing research activities of the “Urban Water Governance” theme of U21 Water Futures for Sustainable Cities (WFSC) project, aligns with the strategic priorities of Universitas 21, an international network of 23 leading research-intensive universities in fifteen countries 2011-2014. More info here.