Caterina Cafazzo Hopkins

Caterina is a PhD candidate in Human Geography and Urban studies at LSE. Her research interests include critical urban theory, anti-imperial political economy, coastal urban development, and geographies of music. Her doctoral research examines the mutually constitutive relationship between public space and class formation on the increasingly privatised coast of Lagos, Nigeria.

More broadly, Caterina's work centres on understanding the socio-spatial impacts of globalised capitalism on urban inequality, spatial justice, and cultural production in cities across both the Minority and Majority worlds. Her academic aspirations are grounded in a desire to co-produce and disseminate knowledge that serves the needs of people-centered social and spatial justice movements in a variety of urban contexts to which she is deeply committed.

Caterina teaches on GY211 Intro to Global Development and GY331 Geographies of Migration.

Before her doctoral studies, Caterina was a freelance writer, artist, and communications consultant for academics and local NGOs working on issues of social and spatial justice. She also spent several years teaching cultural geography and Spanish language at the secondary level. She holds a BSc in International Affairs from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She also holds an MSc in Human Geography and Urban Studies from LSE.

Scholarships
Grantham Research Institute PhD Support Fund
Segal AmeriCorps Education Award

Awards
Highly Commended Teaching Award 2025
Highly Commended Teaching Award 2026
Best Dissertation Award in Human Geography and Urban Studies 2023

Media
Learning How to Cause Good Trouble: The Role of Racially Affirming Literature

Memberships and Affiliations
Lagos Studies Association
Royal Society of Geographers

Supervisors
Prof Claire Mercer
Dr Ryan Centner