My research looks at how urban design and proximity to local services and amenities affect social dynamics at the neighbourhood level.

One of the first steps was to map these proximity urban environments, which I helped out with as part of the MOVACTES project. You can find the proximity maps for five Spanish cities, along with an interactive visor, on the MOVACTIVA webpage (only in Spanish). I also co-authored a paper (forthcoming in Ciudad y Territorio Estudios Territoriales - CyTET) and wrote a report for the general public sharing these results. This work culminated was presented which was presneted

Then I started looking at how proximity is related to social dynamics, focussing in particular on social cohesion. I will be presenting my results in an upcoming conference in Sitges in November and in a paper. I am now doing a research stay at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center where I already coordinated a project on accessibility of climate shelters for vulnerable population. In the coming months, I hope to focus on exploring dynamics of social mixing and proximity.

Before embarking on this PhD journey, between 2012 to 2021, I worked as a project manager and market researcher in London, UK and in Barcelona, Spain. Check out my full CV here:

Hello, world!

I am Serena and I am an urban planning and mobility pre-doctoral researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

I was born in Italy in the eighties, at the very end. Since 2015, I have been based in Barcelona, where I share a cozy and plant-overrun flat with my partner, Stefano. I am also a baker, runner, yoga practictioner, and traveller.