Professor Vanesa Castan Broto

Faculty of Social Sciences

Professor of Climate Urbanism

A profile picture of Vanesa Cast脿n Broto
Profile picture of A profile picture of Vanesa Cast脿n Broto
v.castanbroto@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7942
The Wave

Full contact details

Professor Vanesa Castan Broto
Faculty of Social Sciences
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

Vanesa joined the Urban Institute in September 2017, following her appointment as a Professorial Fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Her research has been funded by the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, ESRC, EPSRC and the Institution of Civil Engineers.

In 2016 she received the Philip Leverhulme Prize for contributions to Geography. In 2013 she received a United Nations Award for Lighthouse Activities that contribute to fight climate change with a focus on the urban poor.

Research interests

Vanesa鈥檚 research focuses on the governance of global environmental change in the urbanization age. She focuses on three interrelated themes: 1) the governance of climate change in urban areas; 2) urbanization and the dynamics of energy transitions; and 3) barriers to the implementation of climate change action.

The first strand of her research focuses on who governs climate change in urban areas and how. For example, she has mapped her contributions to the field in the 2017 article 鈥淯rban Governance and the Politics of Climate Change鈥 (in World Development) in relation to both normative and critical strands of thinking about urban governance for climate change. Vanesa has also made direct contributions to international policy, for example, as a lead chapter author for .

The second strand of her research focuses on the dynamics of energy transition. Following her engagement with urban infrastructure as a means to understand climate change policy, she is developing a feminist neo-materialist perspective on the governance of energy transitions. Vanesa has imagined the concept of urban energy landscapes as spatial arrangements of cultural practices and artefacts that reflect the coevolution of socio-economic, technological, and ecological systems. This conception challenges broadly accepted notions of energy landscapes as the product of public perceptions of energy developments. A recent paper on 鈥淓nergy landscapes and urban trajectories towards sustainability鈥 (in Energy Policy) provides an overview of her work in this area.

The third area of her research focuses on developing practical ways to activate urban transformations and deliver climate action in practice. An example of this work is her . At the moment, Vanesa is engaged in a series of activities with local partners in Mozambique to rethink sustainable energy access in urban areas. An overview of her efforts to rethink sustainable energy access in an urbanization context is presented in a recent collective paper 鈥淯niversal access to sustainable energy in urban areas鈥 (in Nature Energy).

Publications

Books

  • (2025) CO-PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE IN ACTION Emancipatory Strategies for Urban.
  • Castan Broto V & Westman L (2019) . London: Zed Books.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2019) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Broto VC & Westman L (2019) . Zed Books Ltd.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Ensor J, Boyd E, Allen C, Seventine C & Augusto Macucule D (2015) . UCL Press.
  • Bulkeley HA, Broto VC & Edwards GAS (2014) An Urban Politics of Climate Change: Experimentation and the Governing of Socio-Technical Transitions. Abingdon: Routledge.

Journal articles

  • Ruiz de Gopegui M, Olazabal M & Cast谩n Broto V (2026) . European Planning Studies, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1-22.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Gebreslassie MG & To LS (2025) . Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 5(4), 040201-040201.
  • Huang P, Cast谩n Broto V & Westman L (2025) . Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.
  • Ruiz de Gopegui M, Olazabal M, Cast谩n Broto V & McPhearson T (2025) . Urban Climate, 62.
  • Vallecha H, Gebreslassie M, Filli F, Hara C, Gogoda C, Assefa A, To LS, Kirshner J & Cast谩n Broto V (2025) . Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 5(1).
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Marvin S (2024) . Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space.
  • Huang P, Broto VC & Westman L (2024) . Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 53.
  • Ruiz de Gopegui Aramburu M, Olazabal M & Broto VC (2024) . Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, 2(3), 271-315.
  • Gebreslassie MG, Bekele G, Bahta ST, Mebrahtu AH, Assefa A, Nurhussien FF, Habtu D, Lake A, Broto VC & Mulugetta Y (2024) . Energy Research & Social Science, 117.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Olazabal M & Ziervogel G (2024) . Buildings and Cities, 5(1), 199-214.
  • McLaren DP, Anderson C, Barry J, Cast谩n Broto V, de Cheveign茅 S, Chilvers J, Crowther A, Hup茅 J-M, Kalaugher L, Labussiere O , Rothery TL et al (2024) . Frontiers in Education, 9.
  • Dias SM, Cast谩n Broto V, Cypriano B, Ogando AC & Gon莽alves J (2024) . Environment and Urbanization, 36(1), 93-111.
  • Perry B, Cast谩n Broto V, Patel Z & Sitas R (2024) . Planning Theory, 23(4), 423-445.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Westman L & Huang P (2023) . Buildings and Cities, 4(1), 973-989.
  • Dodds K, Taylor Z, Akbari A, Broto VC, Detterbeck K, Inverardi-Ferri C, Lee KO, Mamadouh V, Ramutsindela M & Woon CY (2023) . Territory, Politics, Governance, 11(8), 1519-1536.
  • Lobo J, Aggarwal RM, Alberti M, Allen-Dumas M, Bettencourt LMA, Boone C, Brelsford C, Broto VC, Eakin H, Bagchi-Sen S , Meerow S et al (2023) . npj Urban Sustainability, 3(1).
  • Delgado G, Cast谩n Broto V & Mukesi T (2023) . Urban Planning, 8(2).
  • Westman L, Cast谩n Broto V & Huang P (2023) . Global Environmental Politics, 23(2), 102-124.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Westman L & Huang P (2023) . Journal of Planning Literature, 38(3), 380-394.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Robin E (2023) . Landscape Research, 48(2), 165-173.
  • Sp盲th P, Cast谩n Broto V, Bawakyillenuo S & Pregernig M (2022) . Energy, Sustainability and Society, 12(1).
  • Simone A & Cast谩n Broto V (2022) . City, 26(5-6), 771-790.
  • Olazabal M & Cast谩n Broto V (2022) . Buildings & Cities, 3(1), 570-588.
  • Castan Broto V (2022) . Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning, 80(4), 502-504.
  • Gebreslassie MG, Cuvilas C, Zalengera C, To LS, Baptista I, Robin E, Bekele G, Howe L, Shenga C, Macucule DA , Kirshner J et al (2022) . Energy, Sustainability and Society, 12(1).
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Robin E & Whitehead T (2022) . Landscape Research, 48(2), 255-269.
  • Dodds K, Broto VC, Detterbeck K, Jones M, Mamadouh V, Ramutsindela M, Varsanyi M, Wachsmuth D & Woon CY (2022) . Territory, Politics, Governance, 10(2), 145-158.
  • Ruszczyk HA, Cast谩n Broto V & McFarlane C (2022) . Geoforum, 131, 105-115.
  • Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2022) . Antipode, 54(4), 1320-1343.
  • Westman L, Patterson J, Macrorie R, Orr CJ, Ashcraft CM, Cast谩n Broto V, Dolan D, Gupta M, van der Heijden J, Hickmann T , Hobbins R et al (2022) . Ambio, 51, 1402-1415.
  • Waterton E, Broto VC, Fairclough G, Jones K & Watt LA (2022) . Landscape Research, 47(1), 1-9.
  • Castan Broto V (2022) . Journal of Urban Technology, 29(1), 87-93.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Ortiz C, Lipietz B, Osuteye E, Johnson C, Kombe W, Mtwangi-Limbumba T, Cazanave Mac铆as J, Desmaison B, Hadny A , Kisembo T et al (2022) . Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 4, 100179-100179.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Westman L & Huang P (2021) . Journal of the British Academy, 9s9(S9), 205-218.
  • Huang P, Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) . Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 41, 99-101.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2021) . The AAG Review of Books, 9(4), 1-3.
  • Broto VC (2021) . Environment and Urbanization, 33(2), 310-329.
  • Olazabal M, Chu E, Cast谩n Broto V & Patterson J (2021) . One Earth, 4(6), 828-838.
  • Huang P, Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 46(4), 900-916.
  • Ruiz-Campillo X, Cast谩n Broto V & Westman L (2021) . Politics and Governance, 9(2), 17-28.
  • Davies AR, Castan Broto V & H眉gel S (2021) . Politics and Governance, 9(2), 1-7.
  • Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) . Local Environment, 26(5), 536-541.
  • Ghosh E, Friend R, Anderson KF, Cast谩n Broto V, Tuniz J, Markkanen S, Vaughan L & Rusca M (2021) . One Earth, 4(2), 161-164.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Sudhira HS & Unnikrishnan H (2021) . International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 45(4), 696-715.
  • Pihl E, Alfredsson E, Bengtsson M, Bowen KJ, C谩stan Broto V, Chou KT, Cleugh H, Ebi K, Edwards CM, Fisher E , Friedlingstein P et al (2021) . Global Sustainability, 4.
  • Unnikrishnan H, B. M, Nagendra H & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) . Urban Geography, 42(3), 263-288.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Robin E (2020) . Urban Geography, 42(6), 715-720.
  • Broto VC (2020) . Territory, Politics, Governance, 8(5), 599-603.
  • Huang P, Cast谩n Broto V & Westman LK (2020) . Environmental Policy and Governance, 30(6), 306-318.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Mah D, Zhang F, Huang P, Lo K & Westman L (2020) . Urban Transformations, 2(1).
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Westman LK (2020) . Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 11(4).
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Arthur MDFSR & Guibrunet L (2020) . Energy Research & Social Science, 65, 101478-101478.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2020) . Urban Studies, 57(11), 2371-2379.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Sanzana Calvet M (2020) . Journal of Political Ecology, 27(1), 279-299.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2020) . Territory, Politics, Governance, 8(2), 241-258.
  • Sawas A, Cast谩n Broto V, Anwar NH & Rehman A (2020) . Community Development Journal, 55(1), 83-101.
  • Lo K & Cast谩n Broto V (2019) . Global Environmental Change, 59.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Sudhira HS (2019) . Urban Studies, 56(11), 2261-2279.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Trencher G, Iwaszuk E & Westman L (2019) . Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment, 48(5), 449-462.
  • Westman LK, Cast谩n Broto V & Huang P (2019) . Political Geography, 70, 14-23.
  • Westman LK & Cast谩n Broto V (2019) . Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 37(2), 277-297.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Baptista I, Kirshner J, Smith S & Neves Alves S (2018) . Applied Energy, 228, 645-655.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Neves Alves S (2018) . Environment and Urbanization, 30(2), 367-386.
  • Huang P & Cast谩n Broto V (2018) . Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 28, 35-45.
  • Mulugetta Y & Cast谩n Broto V (2018) . Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 30, 82-88.
  • Westman L & Castan Broto V (2018) . Global Environmental Change, 50, 212-221.
  • Huang P, Broto VC, Liu Y & Ma H (2018) . Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 222-231.
  • Lopez-Navarro MA, Tortosa-Edo V & Castan-Broto V (2018) . Journal of Cleaner Production, 186, 22-33.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Baker L (2018) . Energy Research and Social Science, 36, 1-10.
  • Huang P, Cast谩n Broto V & Liu Y (2018) . Energy Research and Social Science, 36, 156-164.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2018) . Climate Policy, 18(2), 170-183.
  • Guibrunet L, Sanzana Calvet M & Cast谩n Broto V (2017) . Geoforum, 85, 353-367.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Westman L (2017) . Local Environment, 22(5), 635-650.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2017) . World Development, 93, 1-15.
  • Trencher G, Cast谩n Broto V, Takagi T, Sprigings Z, Nishida Y & Yarime M (2016) . Environmental Science & Policy, 66, 353-365.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Dewberry E (2016) . Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 3018-3027.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2016) . Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 18(5), 712-729.
  • Castan Broto V (2015) . Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 33(3), 460-476.
  • Walsh CL, Glendinning S, Cast谩n-Broto V, Dewberry E & Powell M (2015) . Futures, 67, 1-10.
  • Broto VC (2015) . ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING D-SOCIETY & SPACE, 33(3), 460-476.
  • Boyd E, Ensor J, Broto VC & Juhola S (2014) . Global Environmental Change, 26, 140-151.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Glendinning S, Dewberry E, Walsh C & Powell M (2014) . Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 84, 186-196.
  • Powell M, Glendinning S, Cast谩n Broto V, Dewberry E & Walsh C (2014) . Anthropology in Action, 21(2).
  • Bulkeley H, Cast谩n Broto V & Maassen A (2014) . Urban Studies, 51(7), 1471-1486.
  • Bulkeley H & Cast谩n Broto V (2014) . Contemporary Social Science, 9(4), 393-414.
  • Bulkeley H, Carmin J, Cast谩n Broto V, Edwards GAS & Fuller S (2013) . Global Environmental Change, 23(5), 914-925.
  • Broto VC & Bulkeley H (2013) . International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37(6), 1934-1948.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Oballa B & Junior P (2013) . Local Environment, 18(6), 678-704.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Bulkeley H (2013) . Global Environmental Change, 23(1), 92-102.
  • Bulkeley H & Cast谩n Broto V (2013) . Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 38(3), 361-375.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2012) . Local Environment, 17(8), 879-895.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Gislason M & Ehlers M-H (2009) . Environmental Science & Policy, 12(7), 922-933.
  • Doick KJ, Sellers G, Castan-Broto V & Silverthorne T (2009) . Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 8(3), 163-178.
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2009) . Sociology, 43(3), 573-579.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Carter C & Elghali L (2009) . Environmental Politics, 18(2), 279-286.
  • Elmqvist T, Anderson P, Andersson E, Broto VC, Liu T, McPhearson T, Prakash A, Raymond C, Romero-Lankao P, Subramanian SM & Zhang X () . npj Urban Sustainability, 6(1).
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Osuteye E, Ortiz C, Lipietz B, Johnson C & Kombe W () . Ensayo: Revista de arquitectura, urbanismo y territorio(3), 165-185.
  • Romero-Lankao P, Rosner N, Brandtner C, Rea C, Mejia-Montero A, Pilo F, Dokshin F, Castan-Broto V, Burch S & Schnur S () . Nature Energy, 8(11), 1192-1198.
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Kirshner J () . Nature Energy, 5(6), 419-421.
  • Fuso Nerini F, Tomei J, To LS, Bisaga I, Parikh P, Black M, Borrion A, Spataru C, Cast谩n Broto V, Anandarajah G , Milligan B et al () . Nature Energy, 3(1), 10-15.
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Salazar D & Adams K () . People, Place and Policy Online, 8(3), 192-207.

Book chapters

  • Qvistr枚m M, Luka N, Butler A, Cast谩n Broto V, Doughty K, Garlick B, Hine A, Kirby M, Palang H, Scott A & Thompson-Fawcett M (2025) , A Research Agenda for Landscape Studies of Planning (pp. 179-186). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Broto VC (2025) , A Research Agenda for Landscape Studies of Planning (pp. 45-58). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Castan Broto V (2024) In Peake L, Datta A & Adeniyi-Ogunyankin G (Ed.), Handbook on Gender and Cities (pp. 226-236). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2024) , Community Energy and Sustainable Energy Transitions (pp. 1-21). Springer Nature Switzerland
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2024) , Community Energy and Sustainable Energy Transitions (pp. 71-93). Springer Nature Switzerland
  • Ortiz C, Padan Y, Desmaison B, Mbabazi J, Rendell J, Broto VC, Mukwaya PI & Kisembo T (2024) , ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF URBAN DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS (pp. 191-202).
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2023) In Armiero M, Turhan E & de Rosa SP (Ed.), Urban Movements and Climate Change: Loss, Damage and Radical Adaptation (pp. 35-50). Amsterdam University Press
  • Ortiz C, Padan Y, Desmaison B, Mbabazi J, Rendell J, Cast谩n Broto V, Isolo Mukwaya P & Kisembo T (2023) , The Routledge Handbook of Urban Design Research Methods (pp. 191-202). Routledge
  • Dodman D, Hayward B, Pellling M, Castan Broto V, Chow W, Chu E, Dawson R, Khirfan L, McPhearson T, Prakash A , Zheng Y et al (2023) In P枚rtner H-O, Roberts DC, Tignor M, Poloczanska ES, Mintenbeck K, Alegr铆a A, Craig M, Langsdorf S, L枚schke S, M枚ller V , Okem A et al (Ed.), Climate Change 2022 鈥 Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 907-1040). Cambridge University Press
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Robin E (2023) , Handbook on Energy Justice (pp. 253-268). Edward Elgar Publishing
  • Castan Broto V, Westman L, Huang P & Robin E (2023) Just sustainabilities in a changing climate In Rice JL, Long J & Levenda A (Ed.), Urban Climate Justice: Theory, Praxis, Resistance (pp. 29-45). University of Georgia Press
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Westman L & Ruiz Campillo X (2022) , Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science Oxford University Press
  • Cast谩n Broto V (2021) In Lancione M & MacFarlane C (Ed.), Global Urbanism: Knowledge, Power and the City (pp. 219-226). Routledge
  • Rigon A & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) , Inclusive Urban Development in the Global South (pp. 1-14). Routledge
  • Robin E & Cast谩n Broto V (2021) , Inclusive Urban Development in the Global South (pp. 182-197). Routledge
  • Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2020) , Climate Urbanism (pp. 83-95). Springer International Publishing
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Robin E & While A (2020) , Climate Urbanism (pp. 1-11). Springer International Publishing
  • Robin E, Westman L & Cast谩n Broto V (2020) , Climate Urbanism (pp. 15-30). Springer International Publishing
  • Cast谩n Broto V, Robin E & While A (2020) , Climate Urbanism (pp. 243-252). Springer International Publishing
  • Levy C, Allen A, Cast谩n Broto V & Westman L (2017) , Sustainable Cities in Asia (pp. 7-22). Routledge
  • Cast谩n Broto V & Bulkeley H (2017) , Sustainable Cities (pp. 101-126). Apple Academic Press
  • Salazar D, Cast谩n Broto V & Adams K (2017) , Environmental Justice and Urban Resilience in the Global South (pp. 259-276). Palgrave Macmillan US
  • (2015) , The Anthropology of Postindustrialism (pp. 15-35). Routledge

Preprints

  • Huang P, Cast谩n Broto V & Westman L () .