Laura Saija
Laura Saija has recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor in City and Regional Planning at the University of Catania, Italy, after holding the same position for three years at the University of Memphis, TN, USA. She earned her PhD in City and Regional Planning and Urban Design at the University of Catania, Italy. Her research interests cross the boundaries of community development, Urban and Regional planning, and landscape design. Through a Marie Curie Global Research Fellowship, between 2011 and 2013, has focused on action-research and how universities can play an active role in community development processes inspired by the principles of circular economy and inter- and intra-species solidarity, especially in the context of shrinking cities and regions.
Selected recent publications:
Saija L., Pappalardo G. (2018) “An Argument for Action Research-Inspired Participatory Mapping”. In Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER), DOI 10.1177/0739456X18817090
Lambert-Pennington A. K., Saija L., Franchina A. (2018) “From Possibility to Action: An Interdisciplinary Action-Learning School Dealing with Waste”. In Cambio. 8(15): 73-87.
Raciti A., Saija L. (2018) “From Ecosystem Services to Ecological Devices: The Coped Summer School Experience In The Simeto River Valley, Italy”. In Journal of Urban Management - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2018.04.005
Saija L. (2016). La Ricerca-Azione in Pianificazione Territoriale e Urbanistica. Milano: Franco Angeli.
- planning and urban design theory
- epistemology of planning research
- action-research in city and regional planning and design
- community-based environmental design
- planning for circular economy and social change