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URBiNAT Researcher and Co-Project Coordinator awarded INA Award 2023 for PhD


December 15, 2023

URBiNAT Researcher at the University of Coimbra’s Center for Social Studies, and co-Project Coordinator, Isabel Ferreira, has recently been awarded an INA Award 2023 honorable mention. This accolade is in recognition for her doctoral thesis in Sociology – Cities and Urban Cultures, titled “Governance, Citizenship and Participation in Small and Medium Cities: A Comparative Study Between Portuguese and Canadian Cities”. The thesis, conducted under the supervision of Claudino Ferreira, and defended at the University of Coimbra in July 2022, was approved with a Distinction.

Isabel Ferreira’s work integrates the CES Theme Line “Urban Cultures, Sociability and Participation,” reflecting her commitment to exploring the nuances of urban life and citizen engagement. Currently, besides the URBiNAT project, she co-ordinates  “TRANS-Lighthouses – Beyond green: beacons of transformative nature-based solutions for inclusive communities”. These projects underscore her focus on sustainable urban development and community inclusivity.

The INA Award, aimed at celebrating the Best Research on Public Administration, serves to acknowledge yearly research studies that make a significant impact in the public administration sector. The theme for the 2023 edition, “Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability in Public Administration,” resonates with Ferreira’s work, with its emphasis on the importance of sustainable actions, innovative tools, public policies, and the analysis of the specific Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

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Isabel Ferreira’s work has and will undoubtedly continue to shape sustainable and inclusive urban environments. Her thesis contributes to the academic community, and wider community of practice which the URBiNAT project has been building. In particular, it provides practical insights for policymakers and urban planners aiming to create more sustainable, participatory, and inclusive cities.

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Porto
Isabel Ferreira
Project Co-Coordinator CES-UC

Portuguese researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra. Principal researcher and co-coordinator of the project TRANS-Lighthouses – More than green – Lighthouses of transformative nature-based solutions for inclusive communities, European project funded by Horizon Europe and co-coordinator of the project URBiNAT – Healthy corridors as drivers of social housing neighbourhoods for the cocreation of social,environmental and marketable NBS, European project funded by H2020. Between 2015-2016 she integrated the team of the H2020 project EMPATIA. Since 2015, she also has been collaborating regularly with the Executive Agency for Research (European Commission) as an independent expert. She holds a PhD in Sociology, Cities and Urban Cultures, with the thesis dissertation “Governance, citizenship and participation in small and medium-sized cities: a comparative study between Portuguese and Canadian cities”, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/129936/2017) and mobility grants from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the International Council of Canadian Studies. She graduated in Geography, with specialization in Environmental Studies at University of Coimbra (Portugal), and specialized in Environmental Impact Studies at University of Murcia (Spain), and holds a Master in Territorial and Environmental Planning at the New University of Lisbon (Portugal). Her professional experience is mainly related to local planning in environmental, territorial, cultural, educational and sports planning, having held technical functions at the Municipality of Barcelos where she coordinated, collaborated and developed various plans and projects between 2001 and 2012.

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