Francesca Piazzoni is a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, School of Architecture. Her research explores the politics of public space with a focus on design justice, insurgent urbanisms, and critical heritage. A licensed architect, Francesca started interrogating authenticity by practicing preservation in Italy, Lithuania, and China, where she designed several “fake” towns herself. These experiences translated into a book titled The Real Fake: Authenticity and the Production of Space (Fordham University Press, 2018).