Isabelle obtained a PhD in Urban Studies & Planning from MIT before returning to Europe in 2011 with a Marie Curie fellowship. Situated at the intersection of urban planning and policy, social inequality and development studies, her research examines the extent to which urban plans, policies, and socio-environmental interventions contribute to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities. She also studies how community groups in distressed neighborhoods contest the existence or exacerbation of environmental inequities as a result of urban (re)development processes. Based at the UAB-ICTA where she leads the research line on Cities and Environmental Justice, she is also an affiliated researcher at IMIM where she directs the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability. Much of her work takes place in marginalized neighborhoods in Europe, the US, L. America, South Africa, and South East Asia.

Research interests

I am a social scientist trained in urban and environmental planning (PhD, MIT, 2011), nonprofit management (Harvard University, 2004), international development (University de Paris-1 Sorbonne, 2001), and political studies (Science Po, 2000). Before starting my PhD in 2006, I held several positions in international development NGOs in France and the US. As part of collaborative EU and international research projects, I study 1) the extent to which environmental gentrification processes lead to new forms of green locally unwanted land uses (GREENLULUs – ERC Starting Grant (2016-2021) in historically marginalized neighborhoods, 2) how municipalities protect vulnerable communities from climate risks and inequality, 3) what opportunities and constraints exist to transitioning towards a low-carbon economy within European urban regions, 4) how the governance of urban nature-based solutions planning in Europe addresses (or exacerbates) environmental injustices.