about

Vivian Romero is not your typical urban planner.

Let’s get that out of the way. After the first semester, I tried to quit the Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning. But my husband (ahem) convinced me otherwise and I enjoyed the Others (the colleagues and the mentors). Besides, I really liked working at the pub.  After a few forays into the professional world, I embarked upon another academic stint. Then the man with the pencil connected the dots for me and introduced me to the urban and the human scale. You can now call me doctor.

I have written for Urban, Policy & Research, Transport & Health as well as Children, Youth & Environments. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at the Environmental Design and Research Association Conference, the International Urban Design Conference, World Planning Schools Conference as well as several State of Australian Cities conferences. I have addressed policy makers and the public at various municipal councils in the US and the Philippines and through Australian Parliament presentations.

I have endearingly focused on the social and physical experiences that people gain and the subsequent meanings that they attribute to the spaces and places that they use. Using a socio-ecological perspective, I have collected and shared narratives about everyday encounters. Stories have unfolded about stomping on grass in the desert to using rubbish bins along a residential streets to enact active games for families. Such stories intrigue and edify me.

the urban imagined is a different kind of lifestyle blog.

This blog is a love letter to the urban from an academic (non)planner and practicing observer. Here, I’ll create my narrative of the urban imagined: stimulating, healthy and sustainable spaces for all (especially the young and young at heart). It’s a legacy for anklebitters 1 & 2 in the hope that they find as much whimsy, joy and relationships with their surroundings as I do.

Take off your shoes, come stay awhile. Be inspired, have a drink. And then let’s actualise our imagination.

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if you please, I’d love to hear from you. give me a shout

theurbanimagined@gmail.com