RESEARCH PROFILE

Mercè de Miguel I Capdevila is currently conducting the PhD research: link Smart & Physical city at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) engaging urban morphology of cities, and harbours with smart city experiences. Her aim is to develop urban planning/design theory relating urban planning/design development through history with emerging urban strategies from practice and smart city’s technology deployments. Her research unveils physical consequences of the challenges European metropolitan areas must face coming years related to land use intensification, climate change and energy transition, while developing circular economy. Port-city transition areas have been selected as specific urban type to develop and illustrate the new theory. The cities and harbours of Antwerp, Bilbao, Copenhagen and Rotterdam are cooperating with this research.

I have a particular interest in developing urban planning/design theory and practice with the aid of Smart City’s technology deployments in order to transform our complex urban areas into future proof environments for people to enjoy life.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Through her career, Mercè de Miguel Capdevila continues building bridges between academic and practice environments. She previously headed Urban design and development departments in several European cities. Until 2012, holding this position from the municipality of Rotterdam, she was also responsible for several projects between universities (TU Delft, ETSAB- Barcelona or TU Eindhoven) and strategical city developments. Between 2007 and 2010 she collaborated as assistant professor at R-MIT within TU Delft. Her topic was the development of station areas in Europe. In 2014 she was appointed director of the ambitious Dutch Smarter Cities program, where solutions to city challenges were found through innovative collaborations between public-private-and academic partners. Graduated in Architecture and Urban design at the University of Barcelona ETSAB, she began her career in 1989 reshaping the city of Barcelona for the Olympic games 92’ as a civil servant at the municipality.

Ancillary Activities

No ancillary activities