Kumru Çılgın

Kumru Çılgın graduated from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSFAU) in 2008. In 2010, she completed the Master’s Programme in Urban Planning at the same university with a thesis examining urban policies between 1940 and 1960. In 2019, she earned her PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) with a dissertation that explored the notion of the neighborhood and proposed neighborhood planning as an approach to urban transformation processes. From 2024 to 2025, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) at Politecnico di Torino, focusing on the urban experiences of immigrants of Turkish origin in Italy within the framework of urban citizenship.

Since 2014, Çılgın has been a faculty member in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at MSFAU. Her research interests include urban and planning theories, urban policies, urban transformation, gecekondu (informal settlements), participatory planning, local democracy, neighborhood planning, the migration–space nexus, urban citizenship, and rural studies. She has participated in numerous scientific research projects and has extensive professional experience in these areas.

Çılgın has served as a board member at the UCTEA Chamber of City Planners of Turkey. She continues to work in her professional field through multidisciplinary platforms such as the Design Guides R&D Association (TARGE), the Urban Studies Cooperative (Urban.koop), and City Detective: Association for City, Environment, and Arts, while also engaging in solidarity-based activities with various civil initiatives.