My research is concerned with the drivers and dynamics of urban expansion in rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income countries. In my research I examine the motivations and logics of the diverse actors involved in land transactions, investments and property development in urban fringe areas and how urban governance arrangements shape the dynamics of unregulated urban expansion processes. My research offers insights with implications for urban policymakers and planners seeking to foster inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities and engages with key policy agendas shaping Global South cities, including land formalization, settlement upgrading, infrastructure expansion, sustainable transport systems and climate change resilience. I have conducted extensive fieldwork in Tanzania, Ghana and Bangladesh. While strongly bent towards qualitative methodologies, I have an aptitude for integrating insights from qualitative, quantitative and spatial methodologies.  

Current and recent research projects

Urban encroachment – untangling drivers and dynamics of land-use transitions in ecologically sensitive areas (2024-2028). This project is supported by a Sapere Aude: DFF Starting Grant. In this project, I want to examine the drivers and dynamics of urban encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas. I will conduct a comparative study of two rapidly growing cities – Accra in Ghana and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania – which have been characterized by extensive informal expansion in recent decades. www.dff.dk/en/apply/supported-research/research-leaders/research-leader-2023/manja-hoppe-andreasen

Climate Change Resilience in Urban Mobility (2018-2023). This project is supported by DANIDA/FFU and jointly undertaken by Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources Management at University of Copenhagen, Department of Geography and Resource Development at University of Ghana and Institute for Scientific and Technological Information, Accra. www.ign.ku.dk/english/climaccess

The urban land nexus and inclusive urbanization in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Khartoum (2017-2020). This project is supported by DfID East Africa Research Hub and led by the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. www.ids.ac.uk/projects/the-urban-land-nexus-and-inclusive-urbanization-in-dar-es-salaam-mwanza-and-khartoum

The rise of the African middle class: Understanding the nexus of middle class formation and urban transformation processes in Africa (2018-2019). This research is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation and has included a research stay at Utrecht University jointly hosted by The Netherlands Land Academy and the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning. https://www.carlsbergfondet.dk/da/Nyheder/Nyt-fra-fondet/Nyheder/Afrikas-voksende-middelklasse-investerer-i-jord-og-ejendom

Academic positions

2018-present: Tenure-track Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen

2018-2019: Visiting researcher, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University

2016: Postdoc, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen

2012-2016: PhD student, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen

Grants

Sapere Aude: DFF Starting Grant 2023

The Carlsberg Foundation’s Internationalisation Fellowship 2016

Academic qualifications

2016: PhD in Geography, University of Copenhagen 

2011: MSc in International Development Studies and Public Administration, Roskilde University