Miguel Kanai is an urban geographer whose works focuses on large-scale urbanisation processes and the role that infrastructure provision plays in shaping urban and peri-urban environments. A Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, School of Geography and Planning, Miguel obtained his PhD in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) he has taught and researched in multiple countries in Latin America, the USA, Europe and Asia.

He has published widely in English and Spanish and received multiple awards for his research and impact work, including twice the Ashby Prize from the Environment and Planning journal. His current research agenda focuses on alternatives to infrastructure-led development, participatory approaches to community scale green infrastructure, and the politics of special purpose sustainability zones.