Alice Devenyns (°1996, Asse) obtained her Master's degree in History at Ghent University in 2018, with a particular interest in the philosophy of history and memory and its link to (public) space. For her master's dissertation, she researched art and memorials in public space in Cape Town, and how they are intertwined with (the memory of) the socio-spatial fabric during Apartheid. This master's thesis prompted her to pursue the MSc Urban Studies at University College London Department of Geography and The Bartlett School of Architecture in 2019. Here she had the opportunity to work at the intersection of critical urban theory, urbanism and urban design, learning about processes of gentrification and social displacement, (bottom-up) practices of urban regeneration, processes of collective city-making, the financialisation and privatisation of urban space, models for social and affordable housing etc. For her dissertation she based herself on participatory action research with a London action group that aimed to fight the redevelopment of social neighbourhood infrastructure into private housing by trying to obtain planning permission for an alternative design proposal. She investigated the potential of bottom-up spatial practices for radically inclusive urbanism. After her studies, she collaborated on a co-creative research project at The Bartlett School of Planning on the importance of social impact assessments in processes of urban renewal of social housing estates. In 2020, she joined Common Ground, which specialises in providing strategic advice and guidance on stakeholder engagement, citizen participation and co-creation in social and urban transformation projects. She has also written for the online MO Magazine.  

Since 2021, Alice is part of the Architecture Workroom Brussels team, where she is involved in cultural trajectories, policy plans and visitations of policy instruments, and projects around social infrastructure and public space. As a social urban geographer, she aims to use socio-spatial analysis and social science research methods to address social issues and challenges on the field. She is committed to more inclusive and collective forms of city-making that result in more inclusive and collective urban space. Activating residents and users as local and social experts with situated knowledge of their everyday living environment is of utmost importance here. In the City of Brussels' School Streets project, she is taking up this challenge. She also enjoys writing for cultural projects, such as The Great Transformation.