Non ARKARAPRASERTKUL
นน อัครประเสริฐกุล
program
Harvard Doctoral Scholars
Contact
non@alum.mit.edu
Years of Stay at HYI
Sep 2008 to Dec 2011
Dr. Non Arkaraprasertkul is an architect, urban designer, historian, and anthropologist. He has published widely in the fields of urban studies, architectural history, and urban anthropology. His research interest lies in the crossroad of transdisciplinary research between architecture and the social sciences.
He has taught experimental courses in architecture, urban design, and social sciences at many universities including at the University of South Florida where he served as Distinguished Visiting Gibbons Professor of Architecture in 2013; at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he served as Visiting Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Design in 2007–2008; at Fudan University in Shanghai where he was Adjunct Professor in its School of Social Development and Public Policy from 2015 to 2016; and at New York University where he taught an intellectual history course as Global Postdoctoral Fellow and subsequently Global Perspectives on Society Teaching Fellow from 2014 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, he also served as Honorary Senior Lecturer in Urban Regional Planning and Policy at the University of Sydney and subsequently Senior Lecturer in Urbanism
Dr. Arkaraprasertkul is currently International Principal Investigator of a major research project on a comparative study of Southeast Asian neighborhoods funded by the Henry Luce Foundation (New York) and the International Institute for Asian Studies, for which he also holds an academic appointment as Adjunct Professor in Society at Culture at Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon (RMUTP) in Bangkok where this research project is partly based. In Spring 2018, he will serve as Visiting Professor of the Middle and Far East at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
Current Research Projects: My current research projects and interests are deeply woven into the fabric of urban development, technology, and sustainability, reflecting my commitment to creating cities that are not only technologically advanced but also equitable, livable, and culturally vibrant.
Smart Cities and Urban Technology: I’m deeply involved in exploring how smart city technologies can better our urban environments, focusing on sustainability and resilience. My work with the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) in Thailand includes capacity-building for officials and rolling out smart city solutions. A highlight has been developing a citizen-centric mobile app in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which helps manage urban challenges like flooding by engaging the community and using data-driven approaches.
Human-Centric Urban Development: I advocate for a shift from purely technology-driven urban planning to one that places human needs and community participation at the forefront. My research champions policies and projects that consider the social, economic, and cultural contexts of urban areas alongside technological advancements.
AI and Urban Environments: I’m delving into how AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), can revolutionize urban planning and governance. My interest lies in making urban spaces more responsive, adaptive, and inclusive through these technologies.
Sustainable Urban Development: I’m committed to sustainable urban practices, researching how we can integrate renewable energy, manage waste more effectively, and create green urban spaces. My goal is to help cities reduce their carbon footprint while enhancing the quality of life for residents.
Cultural and Historical Urban Studies: With my background in anthropology and urban history, I engage in projects that preserve and integrate cultural heritage into modern urban developments, ensuring cities retain their unique identities as they evolve.
Recent Publications
2023. “Effective Soft Power: How Media can Help Cities Harness Smart Technology for Societal Change.” Thai Media Fund Journal 2(2): 1-30.
2022. Smart City Primer. C-asean and US Embassy Bangkok: Bangkok. With Reilly Paul Rabitaille. eds.
2021. “Harnessing Digital Connectivity for Sustainable Cities in ASEAN.” The ASEAN Magazine. https://theaseanmagazine.asean.org/article/non-arkaraprasertkul-phd/
2020. “Smart City Initiatives in Thailand: Key Concepts and Methods.” Hitachi Review 70: 106 – 110. With Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin et.al.
2019. “Bangkok’s Urban Presence: Toward the Future of Smart Urbanity (Exhibition Entry)” 2019 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism: Collective City. Guidebook. (Seoul, Korea: Seoul Metropolitan Government) 137.
2018. “Gentrification and Its Contentment: An Anthropological Perspective on Housing, Heritage and Urban Social Change in Shanghai,” Urban Studies 55(7): 1561-1578. DOI: 10.1177/0042098016684313
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (Forthcoming). “When the Past Meets the Uncertain Future: An Anthropological Reflection on Gentrification and Historic Preservation in Urban Shanghai.” International Journal of Heritage Studies.
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (Forthcoming). “Housing and Heritage: The Politics of Historic Preservation in the Global City of Shanghai.” In Urban Knowledge Network Asia Research Paper Series, edited by Paul Rabé, University of Amsterdam Press.
Matthew Williams and Non Arkaraprasertkul. 2017. “Mobility in a Global City: Making Sense of Shanghai’s Growing Automobile-Dominated Transport Culture,” Urban Studies 54(10): 2232-2248. [Online First version appeared in 2016 doi: 10.1177/0042098016637568]
Non Arkaraprasertkul. 2017. “Gentrification and Its Contentment: An Anthropological Perspective on Housing, Heritage and Urban Social Change in Shanghai,” Urban Studies: 1-17. [Online First version doi: 10.1177/0042098016684313]
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (2016). “The Abrupt Rise (and Fall) of Creative Entrepreneurs: Socio-Economic Change, the Visitor Economy and Social Conflict in a Traditional Neighbourhood of Shanghai, China,” In Protest and Resistance in the Tourist City, edited by Johannes Novy & Claire Colomb. New York & London: Routledge: 282 – 301.
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (2016). “Gentrification from within: urban social change as anthropological process.” Asian Anthropology, 15(1), 1-20.
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (2016). “The social poetics of urban design: rethinking urban design through Louis Kahn’s vision for Central Philadelphia (1939–1962).” Journal of Urban Design, 21(6), 731-745.
Williams, M., & Arkaraprasertkul, N. (2016). “Mobility in a global city: Making sense of Shanghai’s growing automobile-dominated transport culture.” Urban Studies, 0042098016637568.
Arkaraprasertkul, N. (2016). Review Article: Living with Risk: Precarity & Bangkok’s Urban Poor by Tamaki Endo. Urban Studies [Online First doi: 10.1177/0042098015623472]
Non Arkaraprasertkul & Matthew Williams. “The Death and Life of Shanghai’s Alleyway Houses – Re-thinking Community and Historic Preservation,” Review of Culture 50 (2015): 138 – 152.
Non Arkaraprasertkul. “In Praise of the ‘Coffin’: Japanese Capsule Hotel and Creative Urban Sociality.” In Politics and Aesthetics of Creativity: City, Culture and Space in East Asia, edited by Lu Pan, Dixon Heung Wah Wong & Karin Ling-fung Chau (Piscataway, NJ: Bridge21 Press (2015): 93 – 117.
Non Arkaraprasertkul & Reilly Rabitaile. 《简•万普勒：诗意的大众建筑师》 (English title; “Jan Wampler: The Poet and People’s Architect; originally written in English,” translated into Chinese with abstract in English by Dandan Hu,” New Architecture 1 (2015): 61-63.
Non Arkaraprasertkul. “A Response to Heritage beyond the boundaries: A manifesto,” The Newsletter of the International Institute for Asian Studies 69, no. Autumn (2014): 23.
Non Arkaraprasertkul. “Review Article: Shanghai Gone: Domicide and Defiance in a Chinese Megacity by Qin Shao,” Urban Studies 52, no. 2 (2014): 399 – 401.
Dongwoo Yim, Rafael Luna, Christopher Guignon, and Non Arkaraprasertkul, eds. I Want To Be Metropolitan: Boston Case Study. Novato, California: ORO Editions (2012).
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