Natalia Villamizar Duarte
Lecturer in Urban Design & Programme Director at Newcastle University
Natalia Villamizar Duarte is a Lecturer in Urban Design and the Degree Programme Director for the MA Urban Design at Newcastle University. A trained architect, urban designer, and planner, she brings over 20 years of experience in urban design, urban planning, and policymaking in both academic and professional settings, working across Latin America, North America, and Europe.
Her research examines how urban policy and governance shape urban space and intersect with planning, design, and community practices, with a particular focus on urban mobility, accessibility and social equity; participatory urban design and co-production; and the use, design, and governance of urban green areas and public spaces. She has published on how political ideologies and regulations influence public space governance, with her doctoral research investigating three decades of public space management in Bogotá.
Natalia previously served as Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and held the role of Regional Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, where she advanced community resilience initiatives through the MCR2030 programme. Her teaching approach builds on critical pedagogy, blending theory and practice to encourage students to reflect on the ways power and knowledge intersect in policymaking, urban design, and planning. At Newcastle, she challenges students to understand their role in shaping just and sustainable urban communities, using participatory, reflective, and creative methods.
Natalia Villamizar Duarte
Lecturer in Urban Design & Programme Director at Newcastle University
Natalia Villamizar Duarte is a Lecturer in Urban Design and the Degree Programme Director for the MA Urban Design at Newcastle University. A trained architect, urban designer, and planner, she brings over 20 years of experience in urban design, urban planning, and policymaking in both academic and professional settings, working across Latin America, North America, and Europe.
Her research examines how urban policy and governance shape urban space and intersect with planning, design, and community practices, with a particular focus on urban mobility, accessibility and social equity; participatory urban design and co-production; and the use, design, and governance of urban green areas and public spaces. She has published on how political ideologies and regulations influence public space governance, with her doctoral research investigating three decades of public space management in Bogotá.
Natalia previously served as Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and held the role of Regional Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, where she advanced community resilience initiatives through the MCR2030 programme. Her teaching approach builds on critical pedagogy, blending theory and practice to encourage students to reflect on the ways power and knowledge intersect in policymaking, urban design, and planning. At Newcastle, she challenges students to understand their role in shaping just and sustainable urban communities, using participatory, reflective, and creative methods.
Sessions
Preparing for digital offboarding
Whether delivered by governments, non-profits or private providers, many services form part of the social infrastructure people rely on. They require thoughtful, inclusive design to ensure they remain accessible as people's needs evolve. And on top of that, services for the public remain central to democracy, social justice, and social cohesion. Digital-first and digital-only services provided for citizens, which means all of us, present new challenges for anyone involved, from technology teams to civil servants, from service leaders to policymakers – and above all, service designers.
One challenge that is currently overlooked is the transient nature of digital inclusion and its impact on lifelong access to essential services, particularly those related to complex moments like birth, education, work, and health. This lecture introduces the concept of digital offboarding, illustrates its potential impact on an ageing population, and proposes new approaches to design for lifelong equitable access to essential, life event–based services.
For who
Anyone interested in guarding and generating public value.
Anyone developing and securing lifelong public-facing, society-wide services: service designers, service leaders, policymakers, researchers, educators, professionals, students.
Key takeaways
Learn what makes digital inclusion transient.
Get to know real stories.
Gain insights into how digital offboarding happens.
Explore ways to design for digital offboarding.
Experience & empathy