On a day like today, at GEMOTT we want to congratulate ourselves and show ourselves proud to be a group led by a woman, Carme Miralles-Guasch , a leading researcher in research on mobility and urban planning.
In addition, we also want to highlight the work carried out by our researchers, who, from very diverse trajectories, methodologies and scales of analysis, contribute decisively to critical knowledge about the contemporary city.
Despite working in very different lines, their research follows a common thread: understanding and transforming cities to make them healthier, more inclusive and more livable, focusing on social inequalities, everyday mobility experiences and the impacts of urban policies on people’s lives. Here are some highlights of their most recent research:
Monika Maciejewska – Transport shortage and burden of care
In Santiago de Cuba, the lack of fuel, vehicles and spare parts makes daily mobility unpredictable and costly in time and effort, and this particularly impacts women who combine paid work and care responsibilities. https://lnkd.in/d9KXqAcz
Urban interventions in Barcelona, such as superblocks, school environments or bike lanes, do not generate electoral punishment, a key result that reinforces that policymakers should not be discouraged from promoting this type of transformative policies. https://lnkd.in/dNYJ6qKq
Serena Mombelli – Climate shelters and justice in mobility
Barcelona’s network of climate shelters has good spatial coverage, but ensuring equitable access for the most vulnerable elderly requires also addressing socioeconomic and mobility inequalities, beyond simple proximity. https://lnkd.in/dha5ZdPB
Although most Barcelona residents have many services within a 15-minute walk, it is mainly women and the elderly who really take advantage of this proximity in their daily commute. https://lnkd.in/d6QAgS8w
This research is not limited to the academic field. We are also investing efforts in knowledge transfer, with the Urbametrics project, where Alexandra Bretones Diaz is actively working to bring data and scientific evidence closer to urban decision-making.
Finally, this 11F is also a good opportunity to welcome new researchers who are joining the group:
Coline Dünya Aksoy , a doctoral student, researching how urban design and mobility patterns affect mental well-being, with a special focus on pregnant women.
Asia Latini , doctoral student linked to the ATMOPOLIS project, which uses qualitative methodologies to understand citizens’ perception of air and noise pollution in urban environments.
Moving towards fairer and healthier cities also involves making visible the women who do science every day.
