Institut fédéral de recherches sur la forêt, la neige et le paysage WSL
Fonction
Postdoc
Unité
Groupe
Systèmes d'utilisation du territoire
Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Site
WSL Birmensdorf Bi HL E 40
Pouya Sepehr is a postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), where he works on the DISCLOSE project examining the digital transformation of spatial planning. His research investigates the politics of expertise, citizen science, and multispecies justice in urban environments, with a focus on how digital and environmental infrastructures shape knowledge and governance.
Trained in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and urban studies, Pouya’s work engages with emerging digital tools in planning — from open data portals and citizen sensing platforms to AI-driven software — to analyze how they reconfigure participation, legitimacy, and governance logics. Empirically, he has conducted multi-sited research across European cities, notably in Vienna, and collaborates internationally on projects linking urban transitions, citizen science, and alternative knowledge practices.He also lectures at the Cross-Disciplinary Strategies Department (CDS) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where he teaches courses on multispecies ethnography, sensing methods, and environmental humanities.
| Ph.D. Science and Technology Studies | University of Vienna | 2018 – 2023 |
| M.A. Science, Technology and Society | University of Vienna | 2016 – 2018 |
| M.A. Global Development and Humanitarian Practice | Oxford Brookes University | 2008 – 2010 |
| B.A. Restoration and Conservation of Historical Buildings | University of Tehran | 2001 – 2005 |
| Postdoctoral Researcher, WSL – Land-Use Systems Group, DISCLOSE Project | since 09/2025 |
| Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Siena (DISPOC), DSI City Project | 02/2024 – 09/2025 |
| Senior Researcher, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) London, URBAN Project | 03/2025 – 09/2025 |
| Researcher, Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Vienna, RAVE Project | 09/2023 – 02/2024 |
| Project Coordinator, University of Turin (ESOMAS), COST Action on Digital Social Innovation (DSI) | 02/2023 – 02/2024 |
| University Assistant & Lecturer, University of Vienna, Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) | 09/2018 – 02/2023 |
| Project Lead & Researcher, Sharestan Consulting Company (Tehran) | 04/2011 – 10/2016 |
| Operational Manager & Consultant, CENESTA (Tehran/Geneva) | 04/2012 – 04/2014 |
Sepehr, P., & Julio Paulos (2025). Between Participation and Technocracy: Bureaucratic Innovation in Smart City Vienna. Journal of Cultural Economy (Special Issue on Bureaucratic Reinventions).
Sepehr, P., & Erik Aarden (2025). Community Science for Urban Wildlife: Ecological Care and Multispecies Engagement in Vienna’s StadtWildTiere Initiative. Environment & Planning C: Politics and Space (Special Issue on Alternative Knowledge Practices).
Sepehr, P. (2024). Mundane Urban Governance and AI Oversight: The Case of Vienna’s Intelligent Pedestrian Traffic Lights. Journal of Urban Technology.
Felt, U., & Sepehr, P. (2024). Infrastructuring Citizenry in Smart City Vienna. Journal of Responsible Innovation.
Sepehr, P., & Felt, U. (2023). Urban Imaginaries as Tacit Governing Devices: The Case of Smart City Vienna.Science, Technology, & Human Values.
