🌍 Opportunities, Meetup in Barcelona, Spatial Skills & Urban Connections

Cities never stand still, and neither do the skills needed to shape them.

This week’s edition brings together a mix of opportunities to connect, learn, and explore new directions in your urban career. From a community picnic and Urbanism Book Fair in Barcelona to an interactive street design workshop with Humankind, there are plenty of opportunities to meet fellow city-makers and exchange ideas.

As we curated this edition, one theme appeared again and again: the growing importance of spatial thinking and data skills. Whether in urban planning, GeoAI, public policy, urban health, research, city leadership, or economic analysis, many of the roles featured below rely on the ability to understand, analyse, and communicate spatial information.

That’s also why we’re excited to share that the next cohort of our GIS & Spatial Analysis for Urban Practitioners course is planned to launch this September. If you’ve been thinking about strengthening your GIS skills or exploring how spatial analysis can support your work, you can already join the waitlist and receive 20% off when enrollment opens.

Alongside this announcement, you’ll find a curated selection of opportunities from organisations including Harvard, Oxford Economics, the African Centre for Cities, Technische Universität Braunschweig, and others working at the forefront of urban research, policy, technology, and practice.

Whether you’re looking for your next role, building new skills, expanding your network, or simply staying connected to the ideas shaping cities worldwide, we hope you’ll find something valuable in this edition.

Let’s dive in!

🌍 OPPORTUNITY HIGHLIGHTS FOR URBANISTS

🧺 Barcelona Urbanists Picnic & Urbanism Book Fair

Happening in 2 days!

Barcelona-based urbanists, join us for a relaxed summer evening at Parc de les Glòries as we bring together the local All Things Urban community for an afterwork picnic and informal networking gathering.

Alongside the picnic, we’ll host a small community-led Urbanism Book Fair. Bring a book that inspired you, a favourite read from your field, or one you’d like to pass on. Participants are welcome to exchange, lend, borrow, or simply discuss the books and ideas that have shaped their thinking about cities. Bringing a book is completely optional.

No presentations. No panels. No formal agenda. Just good conversations, new connections, and an opportunity to meet fellow urbanists in Barcelona.

📅 18 June 2026
🕖 19:00
📍 Parc de les Glòries, Barcelona

Register here

Whether you’ve been part of All Things Urban for years or are just discovering the community, we’d love to see you there.

A special thank you to Tímea Szőke, André Pluschke, and Omer Juma for helping bring this gathering to life and supporting the growing urban community in Barcelona.

🚨 Final Seats Filling Up: Design a Woonerf Street with Humankind

Interested in rethinking streets through a more people-centered lens?

There are only a few workshop places remaining for our unique collaboration between EIT Urban Mobility (UMX), All Things Urban, and Humankind. While the final spots are filling up quickly, you can still join the waitlist and secure a chance to participate.

Participants who complete UMX’s free 2-hour Woonerf course will be eligible to join an interactive live workshop led by Humankind co-founder Lior Steinberg and Design Researcher Pedro Gil Farias. Together with fellow urbanists from around the world, you’ll apply the course concepts to real streets submitted by participants and develop visual design ideas in a small-group setting.

To join*:

✔️ Complete the free UMX Woonerf course by 21 June, 11:59 PM CET
✔️ Redeem the code: WoonerfWorkshop
🎓 Receive a free course certificate
📩 Eligible participants will receive workshop invitations via email from UMX

Live workshop options:

📅 23 June 2026
9:30 AM CET | 8:30 AM London | 3:30 AM New York | 4:30 PM Seoul

📅 25 June 2026
5:00 PM CET | 4:00 PM London | 11:00 AM New York | 12:00 AM Seoul (+1)

Participation is limited, and the remaining places are being allocated on a rolling basis. If you’re interested, we recommend completing the course and joining the waitlist as soon as possible.

Complete the course and apply

*Full workshop terms and conditions

More career opportunities handpicked by All Things Urban:

🚀 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Urban Planning and GeoAI

• Organisation: Technische Universität Braunschweig, SpACE Lab at ISU – Institute for Sustainable Urbanism

• Location: Braunschweig, Germany

• Contract: Full-time (100%), 3-year fixed-term position (TV-L E14), starting 1 October 2026

• 📅 Deadline: 12 July 2026

This postdoctoral position focuses on the intersection of urban planning, GeoAI, urban modelling, and experimental spatial research infrastructures. The role involves advancing research on sustainable urbanism, AI applications for spatial analysis, immersive digital environments, and participatory urban design. Candidates should hold a PhD in urban planning, urban design, architecture, geography, or a related field, with strong expertise in data science, geoinformatics, or computer science applied to urban challenges.

🛡️ Programme Manager

• Organisation: European Forum for Urban Security (Efus)

• Location: Paris, France

• Contract: Full-time

This role offers the opportunity to work at the intersection of urban security, crime prevention, and European cooperation. The Programme Manager will contribute to the development and delivery of European projects, support knowledge exchange among cities, and help advance innovative approaches to safer, more inclusive urban environments. Experience in project management, European programmes, and urban policy-related fields is highly desirable.

🌍 Executive Director of Impact on Urban Health

• Organisation: Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation

• Location: London, United Kingdom (Hybrid)

• Contract: Full-time, Permanent

• 💷 Salary: £130,000

• 📅 Deadline: 28 June 2026

Lead one of the UK’s most influential organisations tackling health inequality. This senior leadership role will oversee Impact on Urban Health, guiding strategy, partnerships, research, funding programmes, and multidisciplinary teams working to improve health outcomes in urban communities. The ideal candidate will bring experience delivering large-scale social impact, leading complex organisations, building cross-sector partnerships, and advancing evidence-based approaches to health equity.

📊 Research Associate – Public Policy

• Organisation: CEPT Urban Planning and Design Foundation (CUPDF), CEPT University

• Location: Ahmedabad, India

• Contract: Full-time

• 📅 Deadline: Rolling basis

Join one of India’s leading institutions in urban planning and design as a Research Associate in Public Policy. The role offers an opportunity to contribute to applied research, policy analysis, and projects addressing urban development challenges. Candidates with backgrounds in public policy, urban planning, governance, development studies, or related fields are encouraged to apply.

🛰️ Spatial Data Scientist

• Organisation: Oxford Economics

• Location: London, United Kingdom (Hybrid)

• Contract: Full-time

Join Oxford Economics’ Cities Team at the intersection of urban economics, geospatial analysis, and data science. This role involves developing spatial economic models, building geospatial data pipelines, applying machine learning techniques, and creating location intelligence products that support decision-making across real estate, finance, government, and other sectors. Ideal candidates will have strong Python and GIS skills, experience working with large spatial datasets, and a passion for understanding how cities and regions evolve.

🌍 Project Coordinator – City Hall Fellowship

• Organisation: African Centre for Cities (ACC)

• Location: Cape Town, South Africa

• 📅 Deadline: 26 June 2026

Join the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AmaliCities) and coordinate the City Hall Fellowship programme, which embeds Master’s and PhD students within city governments across Africa to support urban leaders and strengthen local capacity. The role involves programme coordination, stakeholder engagement, fellowship management, and administrative support for the AMALI Data Programme. This is an excellent opportunity for candidates interested in urban development, city governance, leadership, and local government across the African continent.

🎓 Assistant or Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design – Spatial Analysis and Technology

• Organisation: Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD)

• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

• Contract: Full-time, Tenure-Track (Assistant or Associate Professor)

• 📅 Applications Reviewed: Rolling basis beginning June 2026

Harvard’s Department of Urban Planning and Design is seeking a scholar and educator working at the intersection of spatial analysis, geospatial technologies, computational modelling, and urban planning and design. The role combines research, teaching, and interdisciplinary collaboration across fields such as urban development, housing, transportation, infrastructure, environmental adaptation, and data visualisation. Candidates should demonstrate strong research productivity, expertise in spatial and geospatial methods, and a commitment to innovative teaching and cross-disciplinary engagement. Salary: Assistant Professor: $120,000–$140,000 | Associate Professor: $135,000–$170,000

🗺️ GIS & Spatial Analysis for Urban Practitioners Returns This September

Want to strengthen your GIS skills and learn how to apply spatial analysis to real urban challenges?

The next cohort of our GIS & Spatial Analysis for Urban Practitioners course is planned to start this September, and enrollment will be opening soon.

Designed specifically for urban planners, designers, mobility professionals, researchers, sustainability experts, and city-makers, the course combines practical GIS skills with real-world urban applications, helping participants turn data into insights and better decisions.

🎓 Learn at your own pace through a combination of guided materials, live sessions, practical exercises, and a global community of urban professionals.

Learn more and join the waitlist

Thanks for reading and being part of this global community of urbanists shaping what comes next.

See you in the next one! 💛

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Note: The deadlines and conditions mentioned are subject to change; please verify with the respective organizations. All listings shared in this newsletter are for informational purposes only. All Things Urban is not responsible for the accuracy of the postings or the outcome of any application process.