Edwar Calderón’s interdisciplinary research spans urban-rural development, human geography, architecture, and education in geographies of conflict, with a specific interest in the (re)production of space, spatial justice, and urban transformations in marginal contexts. Since 2008, he has been working on community participatory research-based projects. From 2016 his research interest has focused on sociospatial transformations in vulnerable communities in Colombia. His most recent research “Urban morphology of displacement in Medellin” focused on the socio-spatial analysis of displacement-resettlement process of victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. For this, he led a research project combining quantitative and qualitative research methods that investigates ways to improve housing policies for displaced communities who live in marginal settlements. He participated in an advisory committee to revise the current public policy regarding housing solutions for Internal Displaced Populations (IDPs) in the region of Antioquia, and in an advocacy forum to the Congress of the Republic of Colombia for the modification of Law 1448 of 2011 which measures care, assistance, and comprehensive reparation to the victims of the internal armed conflict in the country.

Edwar has also interest in exploring and combining different research methods to tackle societal challenges such as peacebuilding and environmental degradation. In a previous postdoctoral research project at the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh, working on spatial justice and inequalities in marginalized neighbourhoods in the Colombian Pacific region, he designed and led a multisectoral participatory workshop that initiated a peace agreement between local government and the young gangs in Quibdó in 2017. Part of his collaborative work with vulnerable young people using art-based and music participatory methods has been featured in some media such as The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/may/21/colombia-discovers-the-art-of-keeping-young-people-off-the-streets