Gloria Pessina

Gloria Pessina is a Research Fellow (RTDa) in Urban Planning and Techniques at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) at the Politecnico di Milano, where she also earned her PhD in Spatial Planning and Urban Development. She teaches Urban Planning at the School of Architecture, Urban Planning, and Construction Engineering, and Strengthening Critical Spatial Thinking at the Doctoral School.

Her research focuses on the intersection of urban planning, environmental studies, and social dynamics, particularly examining:

• The social and territorial dimensions of energy transition in Italy, with a focus on Sardinian industrial hubs
• Water management in Western India, particularly the political, urban, and environmental aspects
• Production territories, territorial inequalities, and toxic legacies
• Environmental violence and political ecology

Pessina's research methodology combines urban and territorial policy analysis, political ecology, and environmental history. She has conducted fieldwork in India through collaborations with Vastu Shilpa Foundation for Environmental Design and Research (Ahmedabad), Center for Urban Equity (CEPT, Ahmedabad), and Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex, UK).

Her recent work examines energy transition in industrial areas previously affected by national and supranational policies, now facing new programs aimed at combating environmental pollution and unemployment.

Pessina has been actively involved in international scholarly exchange, serving as Visiting Scholar at:

• Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich (2021)
• ISMED-CNR in Naples (2023-2024)
• Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago de Chile (2024)

She has organized academic events including the seminar series "Which environmental history for urban studies?" and the Italian-French conference "For an environmental history applied to urban and landscape studies."

Pessina serves as editor for two academic journals:

• Meridiana (since 2024)
• Lo stato delle città (since 2019)

She is currently involved in several research projects:

• InterPED – Regenerating Intermediate Territories through Positive Energy Districts (2025-2027, Horizon Europe)
• ProdAction research group within the Competence Centre for Antifragile Territories (2024-2025)
• PLanETs. Production landscapes through energy transitions (2023-2025, PRIN 2022)