Teresa Graziano

MAIN FIELDS OF RESEARCH 
Gentrification/touristification, overtourism; smart city; digital geographies and territorial imageries; marginal/left-behind places.

CURRENT POSITION
2021-present: Associate Professor in Economic and Political Geography, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania (Italy) with a qualification as a Full professor (National Scientific Qualification) since 2022.
2024-present: Member of the board of the PhD program in Complex Systems for Physical, Socio-economic and Life Sciences, University of Catania (Italy).
2025-2026: Associate Visiting Researcher at CURDS Centre for urban and regional developments studies, Newcastle University (UK).

TEACHING AND PhD TUTORING
2018-present: Teaching courses - bachelor level: Geography of Cities and Territorial Processes, Urban History and Planning, Qualitative Methods for Territorial Analysis; master’s degree level: Cities and Globalization; PhD level: Digital and participatory methods for disseminating science.
2022-present: Scientific supervisor of the PhD scholar Emanuela R. Giuffrida, PhD program in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, University of Catania (Italy), a research project on qualitative GIS and participatory methods to evaluate the public acceptance of NBS in an Italian marginal area (“inner area”).

PAST POSITIONS
2021-2023: Member of the board of the International PhD program in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, University of Catania (Italy).
2018-2021: Assistant Professor in Economic and Political Geography, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania (Italy).
2017-2018: Post-doc fellow in Economic and Political Geography, Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania (Italy). Research programme: “Territory, Tourism and New Technologies: The Smart Tourist Destination”.
2016-2018: Fixed-term Lecturer in Digital Communication for Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultures and Society, University of Palermo (Italy).
2010-2012: Post-doc fellow in Economic and Political Geography, Department of Architecture, University of Catania (Italy). Research Programme: “Information, global networks and local identities in the geography of communication”.

EDUCATION AND AWARDS
2022: Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) as Full Professor in Geography.
2017: PhD in Territory and Landscape Sciences, University of Sassari (Italy). Final mark: Excellent.
2021: Winner of the “Costantino Caldo Award”, University of Palermo (Italy) with the Association of Italian Geographers.
2016: Winner of the Award of the Italian Geographical Society for Young Geographers.
2009: PhD in Geography, University of Catania (Italy). Final mark: Excellent.
2005: Master’s degree in European Languages and Cultures, with a final dissertation in Geography. Final mark: 110/110 cum laude.

RESEARCH PROJECTS (PI and member of research unit)
2024-present: Convenor and scientific co-coordinator of the GeoUrban – Geographies of the Urban, a thematic research group of the Association of Italian Geographers. https://www.ageiweb.it/gruppi-di-lavoro/geografie-dellurbano/. 
2024-2026: Principal Investigator of RISE – Urban regeneration, infrastructure reconversion and social equity, project funded by PIA.CE.RI research funding program, University of Catania.
2022-2024: Scientific coordinator of the local research unit (University of Catania) of the project PULP – Place-based unfolding, Localities and Participation (PULP) in NRRPs, funded by the Italian Ministry of University of Research within the PRIN funding program - National Interest Relevant Research Project (other partner universities: University of Turin, University of Trieste, Gran Sasso Science Institute).
2020-2022: Principal Investigator “Smart & Rural”, project funded by PIA.CE.RI 2020-2022 research funding program – University of Catania.
2021: Associate Research Director – Dirécteur d’études Associé (DEA) of the Fondation Maison Sciences de l’Hommes, Paris, to coordinate the project “Public Spaces, Urban Green and Digital Participatory Processes for the Sustainable City: Paris as a Case Study”. https://www.fmsh.fr/en/researchers/teresa-graziano.  
2020-present: Member of the research unit, PRIN - National Interest Relevant Research Project on “Emplacing food. Narratives, policies and spaces in Italy. Rethinking the territorial dimensions of food, in the challenges of justice, sustainability, cultural identity and local development”, funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research within the PRIN funding program - Relevant National Interest Research Project (other partner universities: University of Turin, University of Pisa, University of Bicocca Milan, University of Lecce). https://www.emplacingfood.unito.it. 
2022-present: Member of the research unit, PRIN - National Interest Relevant Research Project on “Social infrastructures in question: Local communities, social reproduction and habitability in the Italian South”, funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research within the PRIN funding program - Relevant National Interest Research Project (other partner universities: University of Palermo, University of Foggia, University of Bari, Gran Sasso Science Institute).
2020-2023: Member of the international multi-partner project “Metropole”, funded by the Ecole Française of Rome. https://www.efrome.it/metropoles-metropolises. 
2023-present: Member of the international multi-partner project “Vilmouv”, funded by the Ecole Française of Rome. https://vilmouv.cnrs.fr. 
2017: Affiliated Researcher, Center for Migration Studies - “Mediterraneo Sicilia Europa” Foundation & University Network for East Mediterranean, located in Noto (Sicily, Italy).
2015-2017: external Researcher, PRIN – Relevant National Interest Project on “Retail, consumption and the city”, funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research.
2015-2017: Member of the research unit, PRIN - Relevant National Interest Project on “Geographies and Governance of Migration in Italy”, funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research.
2012-2016: Researcher, UE MED Programme – MEDISS project.
2014-2015: Researcher, research project on “SINERGREEN- RES NOVAE (Smart Intelligent GREEN Energy) – Smart Energy Master for the energy management of territory”, funded by Sicily Region.
2014: Researcher, National Observatory of Structural Policies for Agriculture within a project coordinated by the Italian Geographical Society and the Italian Institute for Agriculture and Food Market.
2013: Researcher, Research Project on “Ecological sustainability of new processes for high environmental risk areas”, funded by Sicily Region.
2012-present: Affiliated Researcher of the International research group on “City, Urban Retail and Consumption”, University of Catania and Naples, University of Barcelona, University of Lisbon, University of San Paulo.
2011-2012: Researcher, International Research Programme on “E-diasporas Atlas”, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme di Parigi, funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), ParisTech, Migrinter, INA.
2010-present: Affiliated Researcher, several research groups of the Association of Italian Geographers.
2009-present: Affiliated researcher, “ICT4D. Information and Communication Technologies for Development” International Network, Department of Geography - Royal Holloway, University of London.
2005-2008: Affiliated Researcher, Mediterranean Observatory of the University of Catania (Italy).

UNIVERSITY SERVICE, INSTITUTIONAL TASKS, GRANTS (selection)
2023-present: Member of the scientific committee of the University of Catania Magazine, UnictMag. https://www.unictmagazine.unict.it/pages/chi-siamo. 
2021-present: Co-founder (with V. Albanese and G. Urso) of We-WISER - Women in Social Sciences for Equity in Research, an Italian association for gender equality in academia. https://sites.google.com/view/we-wiser/home-page. 
2020-present: Regional Trustee for Sicily of the Italian Geographical Society https://societageografica.net/wp/2023/02/22/sicilia/. 
2019-2023: Deputy Department Head of the University of Catania for Communication and Dissemination.
2020-2022: Scientific coordinator of the Standing Lab for Sustainability, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania (Italy).
2018-2020: Member of the steering committee of the Young & Early Geographers career task force of the International Geographical Union.

VISITING RESEARCHER POSITIONS
2025-2026: Associate Visiting Researcher at CURDS Centre for urban and regional development studies of the Newcastle University.
2021, June-July: Visiting professor (with grant) within the DEA (Directeur d’études associé) programme of the Fondation Maison Sciences de l’Homme of Paris.
2019, June-December: Visiting Academic (with grant), Universitat of Barcelona (Spain), within a programme for international mobility funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research & CRUI – Conference of Italian Universities Rectors.
2011: Invited Visiting Fellow, Tic & Migrations Research Group, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris (FMSH). Research programme: “Les Tic dans les diasporas tunisienne et italienne”. http://www.e-diasporas.fr. 
2010: Invited Visiting Fellow, ICT4D-Information and communication technologies for the development research group, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK. Research programme: “ICTs, migration and development in the Maghreb”.
2005, May-July: Internship funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Italian Permanent Delegation of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels.
2004, January-July: Fellowship funded by the UE Erasmus Project to carry out fieldwork and archive research at the Université Paris VII – Denis Diderot of Paris.

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
2022: Keynote speaker at the 2022 Congress of Society of Geographical Studies (University of Pisa, Italy) and 2022 Congress of the Association of Italian Geographers (University of Salento, Lecce, Italy).
2022-present: Member of the Editorial and Scientific Board of the series “Spazi”, Guerini, publisher in Milan.
2017-present: Member of the Editorial and Scientific Board of the series “Geographical Narratives of the Territory” of “Aracne”, publisher in Rome.
2009-present: Referee for the several Italian and international journals (selection): Geojournal; Urban studies; European Urban and Regional Studies; City; Cities; Planning Research and practice; Geographical Review; Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana; Rivista Geografica Italiana; Territorio.
2012-present: Chair of national and international sessions of congresses (organized by the Society of Geographical Studies, the Association of Italian Geographers and the Italian Society of Geography; the European Association of Geographers; and the University of Catania).
2005-present: Invited Lecturer for seminars at the University of Como, Catania, Messina, Bologna, Cagliari, Palermo (Italy); Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London; Paris Lodron University of Salzburg.
2009-present: Speaker at more than 100 congresses and seminars in universities, doctoral programs and research institutes in Italy and abroad.

OTHER SKILLS:
2010-present: Enrolled in the National Register of Italian Journalists as a freelance journalist.
Good knowledge of tools of digital methods for social science research (ie. Navicrawler, Hyphe, Gephi, Netvizz).

PUBLICATIONS:
Author of more than 160 publications, for the full list please visit the department website profile http://www.di3a.unict.it/corsi/l-21/docenti/teresa.graziano.