Jose Balsa Barreiro

Jose Balsa Barreiro is a tenured researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), affiliated with the Department of Geography within the Faculty of Geography and History. He is part of the ANTE Research Group (Territorial Analysis) and the Institute of Studies and Development of Galicia (IDEGA). His work focuses on geospatial analysis, territorial cohesion, and the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to urban and environmental challenges.

Education: He holds a PhD from the University of A Coruña (2015), with a thesis titled Application of GNSS and GIS systems to transport infrastructures: study on naturalistic driving, supervised by Dr. Francisco-Alberto Varela-García, Dr. Rubén Camilo Lois González, and Dr. Pedro Miguel Valero Mora.

Research Interests: Dr. Balsa Barreiro’s work bridges spatial analysis with societal challenges, including pandemic modeling, urban mobility, demographic trends, and environmental sustainability. He has pioneered methods for analyzing traffic patterns using naturalistic driving data and developed innovative approaches to mapping territorial cohesion through time-distorted travel-time maps.

Key Themes in Publications: His recent work explores the interplay between urban infrastructure and public health (e.g., healthcare accessibility planning), the impact of AI on urban science, and the socioeconomic dimensions of pandemics. He has conducted extensive studies on Galicia’s demographic challenges and the spatial dynamics of wildfire risks.

Labs/Teams: He contributes to the ANTE Group’s projects on territorial analysis and IDEGA’s development initiatives in Galicia. His research frequently involves collaborations with interdisciplinary teams, integrating GIS, LiDAR technology, and socio-economic data.