Letizia Chiappini

Letizia Chiappini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Governance and Technology for Sustainability at the University of Twente, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). Her research bridges digital geography, urban governance, and sustainable technology, with a strong emphasis on equity, care, and democratic participation in urban digital transitions.

Her research interests center on digital urbanism, feminist geography, and platform governance. She investigates how digital technologies reshape urban power relations, focusing on co-creation, digital literacy, and collective resistance against techno-utopianism. Her work critically examines the embeddedness of care, gender, and social justice in smart city initiatives and local energy systems.

The recent publications reveal a strong trend toward interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of digital geography, urban political economy, and feminist technoscience. Her work increasingly engages with themes of digital money infrastructures, care ethics in digital urbanism, and resistance to platform dystopias, reflecting a commitment to socially grounded, justice-oriented research.

Scientific Awards:

• Distinguished Urban Fellowship, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (2024–2025)

Letizia Chiappini actively participates in academic and public discourse, advising on urban technology policies and contributing expert commentary in media on topics such as e-bike courier platforms and urban sustainability. While specific grants are not listed, her fellowship and publications suggest active research funding. She collaborates internationally, as seen in her participation in La Biennale Architettura and her visiting role at NIAS.

She is involved in research networks focusing on digital geographies and urban sustainability, contributing to both scholarly and public debates on equitable urban digitalization.