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Brian

Rosa

Brian

Ad-Hoc Expert

Generic Skills

B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development: 
I have an MRP in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University, one of the top planning programs in the world. My Masters thesis was focused on the built environment of New Orleans and how it impacted rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina. After working as a research fellow in Mexico City looking at historic urban infrastructures in Mexico City and as an educator at the National Building Museum in Washington DC, I began a PhD in Human Geography at the University of Manchester. My PhD thesis was focused on the impact of Victorian-era elevated railways in the shaping of urban redevelopment in Manchester since the 1980s. Later, after becoming a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, I expanded this research to London, and I also completed a book looking at the local and global impacts of the High Line park in New York. Lastly, I have experience teaching in sustainable urban development, most recently through teaching the course Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level: 
As a scholar, I have conducted research in various cities in the United States, Mexico, England, Scotland, and Spain. Furthermore, I have participated in a number of research networks and conferences that have taken me around North America, Europe, and Asia as a presenter and/or participant. I myself have organized a number of symposia in the United Kingdom and in New York City. I have also published research in academic journals in both English and Spanish.
B.3. Proficiency in English: 
English is my mother tongue, as I am from the United States who has recently become a permanent resident of Spain.

Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:

Thematic expertise:

Theme / Policy: 
Integrated Urban Renewal
Summary Thematic expertise: 
As a researcher with training as an urban planner and geographer, and international teaching experience, I have made critical contributions to the study of urban transformation related to urban infrastructure, heritage, social inequality, and residential and commercial displacement. This has resulted in a number of peer-reviewed publications, reports, writing and exhibitions for a broader audience, and significant public engagement and collaboration.
Theme / Policy: 
Urban Strategic Planning

Expertise support to local authorities and other stakeholders in designing & delivering integrated and participatory policies

E.1. Knowledge on participatory methods and tools for co-production and implementation of local polices : 
My involvement in the recovery planning process in the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina involved a number of participatory action research methods around community visioning and assemblies, door-to-door surveys and then more intensive, open ended interviews, and the production of an exhibition of photographic portraits and oral histories. Another example has been my collaboration with Guardians of the Arches to address internal tensions within this commercial tenant organization between different businesses and the roles that they play within the processes of redevelopment and gentrification.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies: 
My research on commercial displacement from railway properties in Britain has involved a longitudinal study of over ten years looking at how regeneration and transport policies in British cities has impacted the ability of small businesses to operate within properties beneath urban railway viaducts. This has used a combination of policy analysis, interview-based research, ethnography, and qualitative analysis in Manchester and London. This year, I have also been involved in two ideas competitions regarding urban infrastructure and public space design, one through the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB)--for which we are finalists, and another for the Barcelona city government, which is currently under review. In both cases, these projects involve the analysis and evaluation of current urban strategies and suggestions for approaches that further encourage sustainable transformation, community participation, and social equity.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level: 
I learned about URBACT and its colloborative activities across the EU through the Riconnect project, which I have become involved with, and has also led me to learn about the EU's creation of action planning networks around other themes related to sustainable urban and regional development. My current research explores the impact of urban regeneration and heritage projects that have been funded by the European Regional Development Fund to understand the centrality of industrial heritage on contemporary urban regeneration in a number of cities around Europe.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities: 
I have conducted research in New Orleans, Mexico City, a variety of cities in the United Kingdom, and Córdoba and Barcelona, Spain. In each case, it is essential to have a strong grasp on the history of the locals and cities where I am working; both the social and economic history more broadly, but also the historical relationship between planning and local communities. I am especially concerned about communities that have traditionally been marginalized, whether socially or spatially, and aim to be attuned to contemporary conflicts and debates about democratic urban transformation. In the case of my research in Cordoba, Spain, I worked with a civic platform focused on the democratic management of heritage at the World Heritage Site of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, and in my research in Manchester and London I have worked with the tenants association Guardians of the Arches. Aside from ensuring that my research is aligned with the needs of civic groups to ensure that it has concrete social impact, working directly with civic group ensures that I (as an American, coming from a different social and cultural context) have an adequate grasp on local realities and specificities.

Informations

Residence location:
Spain
Languages:
English - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level: 
Foreign languages: 
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Foreign Languages level: 
Foreign languages: 
Email:
brian.t.rosa@gmail.com

Area of expertise