In 2015 Alain Malherbe was awarded his PhD entitled Mutations and resources of territorialisation of the Meuse-Rhine cross-border area over time. Towards a polycentric cross-border metropolis? at the UCLouvain.
From 1992 to 2006 he pursued an activity in the field of contemporary art by contributing to the organization of exhibitions in contemporary art and architecture. He also conducted research on housing in Wallonia from 1993 to 2001.
For fifteen years (1995-2010), he was in charge of urban renewal operations in Liège which won several prizes (e.g.: RegioStars 2010 - Special Jury Mention for the Pieper II Walloon Architecture Grand Prix site - Les Forges - Pierre Blondel Architectes).
He was scientific coordinator (CREAT-UCLouvain) of the Permanent Conference on Territorial Development (CPDT) from 2009 to 2017. He has also led research in the field of territorial development and more particularly on cross-border metropolitan territories. He has participated in studies design territorial strategies such as the urban/transport link when implementing exclusive right-of-way public transport (UPT/ERW) lines or municipal structure schemes. From 2018 on, he has been coordinator of research projects within the LOCI faculty of UCLouvain and the CREAT. He is currently coordinating several research projects on urban biodiversity, social inclusion and homelessness, cross-border metropolitan development etc.
Since 2010 he has been a lecturer in a Master Program in Urban and Regional Planning at ISURU (Brussels). Between 2016 and 2019 he also lectured in the European Master Eurostudies at the University of Lille. He has also been a guest lecturer at UCLouvain in the complementary Master in Urban and Regional Planning.
