Mindy Park

I am a PhD researcher at the Global Development Institute (GDI). As an urban policy analyst with a deep interest in citizen agency and urban politics, I focus on the intersection of socio-technical changes, citizen voices and the ways such diverse interests shape and transform policies and societies. With experience spanning housing development, disaster risk reduction, women’s empowerment and appropriate technologies across Asia and Africa, I explore a broad range of topics around the globe from a policy-oriented perspective. Beyond this, my general research interests span appropriate technology, urban planning and international development.

My current research looks into the intersection of urban informality and emerging digital platforms in Jakarta's informal sector. Focusing on the positive and negative development impacts of digital platforms in the informal sector, I investigate the ways in which low-income consumers, micro-entrepreneurs, and informal workers either potentially benefit from or are extracted by various digital platforms (e.g., ride-hailing/food-delivery, e-commerce, fintech etc.). I pay keen attention to how people, livelihoods, labour and services move across formal and informal spheres. 

Prior to undertaking my PhD, I worked as a researcher/project coordinator at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (2019 – 2021), coordinating a policy consulting project on Vietnam's social housing. As a project action officer, I participated in numerous policy consultations as well as site visits in Vietnam to propose policy recommendations on various elements of social housing policy development, which encompassed housing survey, housing law, housing provision and finance mechanisms. As a researcher, I conducted a comparative policy analysis on social/public/low-income housing, looking at a wide range of cases from the U.K., South Korea, China, Singapore and more. I then took up a post as Programme Manager at KOICA Indonesia (2021 – 2022, while collecting baseline data for my PhD project), where I worked with UN Women Indonesia on an ongoing project that puts together women's empowerment, disaster risk reduction, and resilience/peacebuilding through inclusive planning. 

I hold a BA in International Studies from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and an MSc in Global Urban Development Planning from the University of Manchester, UK.