Eric Denis

Eric DENIS, director of Géographie-cités lab, holds a PhD in urban and economic geography from the University of Caen, France, and a Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches from Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne University. He is senior research fellow at the French National Centre for Scientific Research - CNRS. Based in Cairo over a decade (1993-2003), he has worked also in Sudan. From 2009 to 2013, he was heading the social sciences department of the French Institute of Pondicherry, India. His studies concern metropolitan changes, social division of urban territories and the evolution of systems of cities with a particular focus on land transformations and international comparisons. His research contributes to decentre our understanding of urban dynamics by claiming small towns where half of the urban citizen are living. He authored over 60 papers and books (Villes et urbanisation de l’Egypte – 2007; Subaltern Urbanization in India – 2017, etc.). His current study concerns urban commons for housing in the Global South. He is also involved in researches modelling built-up footprint expansion and urban land financialization.