Katharine Willis

Professor of Smart Cities and Communities

University of Plymouth

Speaker Biography

Katharine is Associate Head of School (Research) for Art, Design and Architecture and a leading scholar in smart cities and communities. Her research explores smart cities, smart villages, digital technologies, and the relationship between space, place, and social inclusion. She is co-author, with Alex Aurigi, of two influential Routledge volumes on Smart Cities and author of Netspaces: Space and Place in a Networked World (2015). Her work emphasises community-centred, ground-up approaches to digital innovation and the creation of inclusive environments.
Katharine currently leads several funded projects examining how emerging technologies can enhance engagement with place, with a focus on digital and social inclusion. She previously served as Interim Head of School (2021–2022), REF UoA 13 Coordinator (2015–2022), and Co-Chair of the School’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
She is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban Science and Progress, King’s College London, and a 2024–25 Visiting Fellow at the Western Academy for Advanced Research, Western University, Canada.

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