Peili Pey, BA, MSc

PhD Candidate at the Department of Geography and Darwin College

Urban Green Assemblage: A Machinic Approach to Green Cities

Biography

Career

• 2018 – Present: PhD Candidate in Geography, University of Cambridge, UK
• 2016 – Present: Part-time Lecturer/Teaching Assistant in Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, SG
• 2015 – 2016: Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Analyst at Sustainalytics

Qualifications

• MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
• BA (Hons) Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, SG

Awards and scholarships

• University of Cambridge Graduate Trust Funds (Philip Lake II Fund, University Fieldwork Fund)

Research

The urban response to the climate crisis has culminated in a diverse set of sustainable city concepts. From eco-cities to smart green cities, urban green initiatives are primarily focused on governance or technological solutions. I propose using a hybrid perspective of governance, metabolic and machinic to create a deeper understanding of urban green initiatives. My research looks at the possibility and potential for these urban policies and greening initiatives to create deep changes that redefine the relationship between city infrastructures, people and nature in order to achieve environmental sustainability. At present I am carrying out my fieldwork in Singapore through qualitative and creative mixed methods.

Publications

Articles

• Pey, P., & Islam, M. S. (2017). Eco-Governmentality: A Discursive Analysis of State-NGOs-Youth Relations in Singapore. Social Sciences, 6(4), 133.

Conferences

• Migrants and Urban Environmental Sustainability – EcoCity World Summit, Vancouver Canada (October 2019)

Teaching

• Department of Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2016 – 2020): Person and Society, Classical Social Theory, Gender and Society, Education and Society, Sociology of Tourism

External activities

• Co-convenor of Cambridge City Seminars 2020-2021
• Member of the Infrastructural Geographies Research Group
• Member of Engage for Change with CambridgeHub and University of Cambridge Environment and Energy
• Member of Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
• Project Coordinator at ZeroWaste Singapore