1. Tara van Dijk, PhD
___________________________________________________________________________
E: tara.v.dijk@gmail.com M: ++3163947362
Website: https://amsterdam.academia.edu/TaravanDijk
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• Ten years of research experience in the field of urbanization, governance and livelihoods.
• Tested communicator across cultures, generations and academic dispositions.
• Worked within a successful collaborative and interdisciplinary research program.
• Taught children in Seoul, teenagers in Gaza, software engineers and developers in
Shanghai, and master's students at the University of Amsterdam and at the Institute for
Housing and Urban Development in Rotterdam.
• Professional network spans five continents. During my research in the Mumbai Metro
Region, I organized two workshops (with Self-Help Groups in Mumbai) on participatory
mapping and the use of open source GIS and Google Earth for communicating needs to
service providers and representatives. I also organized two workshops on decentralization
and the structures of urban governance for municipal councillors.
RESEARCH
Academic Fields: Urban Studies, International Development Studies and Political Studies
Topics: Social and Spatial Inequalities, Urban Development and Renewal, Decentralization,
Livelihoods, Citizenship, Political Communication, and Digital Governance/Big Data/Smart Cities
Geographic Specialization: South Asia, India, United States and Western Europe
Approaches: Analytical Literature Review, Policy Analysis, Implementation Analysis, Survey
Research, and Participatory Appraisal, Ethnography
SKILLS
Communication: I am adept at cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dissemination and
knowledge exchange via articles, reports, presentations, lectures, workshops, and roundtable
discussions. I have discussed policies and research findings with both government agencies
and actors and with other stakeholders from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Research & Project Management & Collaboration: I can design, organize and conduct
successful qualitative and mixed-method studies of complex social and political issues, and I
have worked within a successful collaborative and interdisciplinary research program. I have
supervised master’s students’ research projects and have overseen the work of research
assistants.
Computer Skills: Microsoft Office, Apple (Keynote, Pages, Numbers), SPSS, NVivo, Atlas.ti
Writing: Academic Journal Publications, Book Chapters, Working Papers, and Policy Briefs
Languages: Native English Speaker, Competent Dutch
OUTREACH
• Three workshops with Self-Help Groups in Mumbai on participatory mapping and open
source GIS & Google Earth for communicating needs to the municipality.
• Two workshops on decentralization and the structure of urban governance for municipal
councillors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
• Two roundtable discussions with municipal officials on GIS for planning and monitoring.

2. EDUCATION
12/2014 PhD Urban Studies
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
04/2006 Master of Science Human Geography, International Development Studies
Programme, Cum Laude
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
06/2001 Bachelor of Science Sociology, Magna Cum Laude, Minors in Women's Studies
and Literature Studies, Southern Oregon University, United States
EMPLOYMENT
03/2016 - 06/2016 Guest Lecturer and Thesis Supervision Institute for Housing and Urban
Development Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands
3/2013—present Independent Researcher, Netherlands
Writing journal articles based on recent research and preparing research proposals and
analytical literature reviews on topics germane sustainable urbanization and inclusive urban
governance.
11/2007—2/2013 Research Fellow Department of Geography, Planning, and International
Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Contributed to the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research—WOTRO Integrated
Programme “Using spatial data infrastructures (SDI) in urban governance networks: reducing
urban deprivations in Indian cities?” Senior and PhD researchers from University of
Amsterdam, University of Twente, School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai), and four Indian municipalities collaborated on this
project. My contribution analysed the structural and political dimensions of spatial inequalities
and to what extent these could be captured in digitized SDIs. During my 18 months of
fieldwork in India, I built rapport with a variety of actors, ranging from street-level political
actors and bureaucrats to urban and regional planners, to GIS and egovernance consultants, to
Government of India officials. Several publications, presentations and guest lectures developed
from my research.
8/2002—6/2002 Teacher American International School in Gaza, Palestinian Territories
I taught 6th
through 10th
grade language arts classes and established a college and career
seminar for juniors & seniors at the American International School in Gaza.
8/2001—8/2002 Communications Specialist Microsoft Global Technical Engineering
Center, Shanghai, China
I taught Chinese engineers Western customer service expectations, soft skills, and business
English. I also developed an intranet resource center on these topics.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Asia Studies in Amsterdam Network (ASiA); Development Studies Association (DSA);
International. Sociological Association (ISA); European Association of Development Research
& Training Institutes (EADI)

3. PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2016. "When Participatory Development Meets Urban Informality: The Case of the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region," International Area Studies Review 19 (1) 45-59.
2015. "Governance Networks: Conceptualization, Genealogy and Research Frontiers," in
Goopta, J., Pfeffer, K., Verrest, H. and Ros-Tonen, M. (eds) Geographies of Urban
Governance, Springer.
2011. "Livelihoods, Capitals, and Livelihood Trajectories: A More Sociological
Conceptualization,” Progress in Development Studies 11 (2) 101-117.
2011. "Networks of Urbanization in Two Indian Cities." Environment and Urbanization: ASIA 2
(2) 303-319.
2011. “Municipal Councilors: Friend and Foe to Mumbai’s Development,” Human Geography 4
(2) 31-47.
2011. "E-government Tools, Claimed Potentials/Unnamed Limitations." Co-authored with: Javier
Martínez and Karin Pfeffer. Environment and Urbanization: ASIA 2 (2) 223-2342.
2007. “Reservation in India and Substantive Gender Equality,” International Journal of Diversity
in Organizations, Communities, and Nations 7 (11) 22-38.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
2013. “The Development of Kalyan-Dombivli, India: A ‘Satellite’ City in a Metropolitan Region.”
Co-author, Working Paper: Chance2Sustain: http://www.chance2sustain.eu.
2009. “Key Issues in Urban Development: What India Shows Us.” Policy Paper. Dutch Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Den Haag.
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND GUEST LECTURES
"Plurality of Settlement Formations in Urbanizing India." Guest Lecture, India Lecture Series,
University of Amsterdam, March 4, 2015.
“Mediatory Institutions and Networks in Urban Governance.” Guest Lecture, Governance for
Inclusive Development Masters Course, University of Amsterdam, November 27, 2014.
"Subaltern Urbanization?: The Development of Kalyan-Dombivli, India." Paper presented at the
European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes Conference,
Bonn, Germany, June 24, 2014.
"Social Relations of Water Inequities in the Mumbai Metro Region." Guest Lecture at the
UNESCO-IHE, Delft, Netherlands, September 28, 2012.
"Water Apartheid?: Processes, Politics, Practices and Prospects of Water Governance in the
Mumbai Region." Innovations in International Water Series Lectures—Sponsored by the
Institute for Water and Watersheds, Oregon State University, July 9, 2012.
“Critiquing Amartya Sen Using Slavoj Žižek and Carol Gilligan.” Paper presented at Human
Development and Capability Approach Conference, Den Haag, September 2011.
“Diverse ‘Rights-to the-City’ Regimes in Urbanizing India.” Spatial Information Infrastructure
and Tackling Urban Inequalities Workshop Paper, Habitat Centre, Delhi, India February
2011.
“Varieties of political agency within the mediated state: A study of Mumbai’s Municipal
Councilors.” CERES Conference Paper, Institute of Social Sciences, Den Haag, July 2010.
“Egovernance in India: A Faltering Panoptic Strategy.” Paper presented at International
Sociological Association Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, July 2010.
“Tales of the community toilet block: Local politics wins again.” Guest Lecture at Tata Institute
of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, March 2010.
“Actually Existing Informality in Indian Cities.” Presented at the Development Studies
Association Conference. University of Ulster, Ireland, September 2-4, 2009.
“Unpacking Urban Inequalities: The Strategic-Relational Livelihoods Approach." NAERUS
Conference Paper, Rotterdam, November, 2009.