David Gogishvili

David Gogishvili is a senior researcher in the Department of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Lausanne. His research focuses on the role of large-scale urban development projects, such as mega-events and flagship cultural institutions, in cities around the world. He has research expertise in the cities of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and is currently developing in the Gulf region. While primarily relying on qualitative research tools, he has recently been involved in research using spatial analysis methods and has developed several large databases for academic research over the past four years.

At the University of Lausanne, David is part of research team M3 (Materialities | Multiplicities | Metropolis). He is working on the project Cultural Flagships: Pathways, Practices and Politics of a Global Urban Type. As part of the project, David is building a database of cultural flagships around the world, with up to 80 variables, in order to draw conclusions about their prevalence, genealogy, context, rationale and outcomes. He is also conducting qualitative research on the multiple lives, promises and mobilities of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Saadiyat Island Cultural District in Abu Dhabi. This involves reconstructing the genesis of a building by tracing the multiple relationships that have shaped it to the present day.

From February 2024, David will be a senior researcher in the research project "Sports for the planet? The sustainability of major sports events" funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Major sports as resource-intensive and highly visible undertakings have a heightened responsibility to be sustainable. However, their sustainability is largely under-studied. This project aims to fill this gap by developing a conceptual model, indicator framework and contextual analysis of the sustainability of major sports events along four thematic axes: Cities & Environment, Governance & Performance, Integrity & Human Rights, Media & Diversity.

For publications see: Researchgate

David's CV