I am Matluba Khan, a landscape architect, teacher, writer and an amateur photographer. I have completed PhD in Landscape Architecture from the University of Edinburgh having awarded a David Willis Bequest for outstanding research progress. Prior to that, I completed a Masters and a Bachelor in Architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, for which I was awarded Anisur Rahman Gold Medal and Shamsunnahar Khanam Memorial Gold Medal respectively.

My research interests are directed towards the relationship between built-environment and people’s health and behaviour and the process and outcomes of their participation in the design and research process with a focus on children’s learning environment and child-friendly city design.  My research experience and skills has inspired and shaped my practice and I have always made conscious efforts to integrate design in research and vice versa. Having set my feet in both practice and academia, I thrive to remove the disciplinary silos and reduce the gap between academia and practice and co-founded A Place in Childhood (APiC) on a mission to promote and conceive Inclusive Child-Friendly Environments through a triad of practice-based Research, Advocacy and Action.

I have presented nationally and internationally on the topic of designing for children’s learning and health and engaging young people in design, including in a 2017 TEDx talk entitled, “How to get your kids to love learning”. My co-designed school ground in Bangladesh received several prestigious international awards including ASLA Honor Award in 2017 and  Place Design Award by EDRA in 2016. I am now working as an Assistant Professor of Urban Design at Cardiff University, prior to that I was a research fellow at the University College London on a EU Horizon 2020 funded project called INHERIT that aims to identify environmentally sustainable ways of living, moving and consuming for improving health and reducing health inequalities. I am also working on co-design of an outdoor learning environment with Rohingya children in the refugee camp in CoxsBazar-Teknaf-Ukhia in Bangladesh.