ANNUAIRE

Daniela’s research is an inquiry into the potential of ‘urban metabolism’ theory and models to advance evidence-based understanding of the relations that urban communities establish with natural resources. At UCLouvain, Daniela has founded and leads the interdisciplinary research team Urban Metabolism lab (UM Lab). The lab’s mission is to expand current boundaries of urban metabolism theory and models, using trans– and inter-disciplinary research methods. This involves a set of pilot projects on the co-design of new urban metabolism models and decision support systems involving scientists in engineering, social and natural sciences and policy, industry, and socioeconomic stakeholders (trans-disciplinarity). This approach rests on synergies among available expertise in the lab, spanning across fields as varied as: industrial, urban, and social ecology; urban planning, urban design and architecture; landscape architecture; environmental and civil engineering, bioscience engineering; environmental and resource management; data management and statistics; human and environmental geography; philosophy of science (inter-disciplinarity).

A particular strength of Daniela’s and the UM Lab work is their international scope and global outreach. New metabolic models and conceptual frameworks are systematically tested across a Global North-Global South urban gradient as a means to deploy cross-cities’ mutual learning processes.  In this sense, Brussels has become a privileged field of experimentation for the lab, also through parallel “twin studies” with cities across the globe, such as Lima, Mexico City, Beirut, Accra, Kumasi, Algiers, London, and Melbourne. These studies are undertaken in collaboration with academic partners and public/industry stakeholders in Flanders, the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Algeria, the US, Australia, Peru, Mexico, Ghana, Algeria, and India. Their work is supported by a wide range of national and international funding agencies, including F.R.S-FNRS/Belgium, Wallonia-Bruxelles International, Innoviris/Brussels Capital Region, Omgeving/Flemish Region, Belgian Academy for Research and Higher Education ARES, EPSRC/UK, CNRS/France, MIUR/Italy.