Public space scholar and passionate activist
I have invested more than ten years of tireless commitment on public space through City Space Architecture, a non-profit organization based in Bologna (Italy) that I founded in 2013. Through City Space Architecture I have initiated and I am currently leading The Journal of Public Space, the first, interdisciplinary, academic, open access journal entirely dedicated to public space, as Editor in Chief; the Public Space Academy, the first, free, interdisciplinary educational programme aimed at establishing a new approach to urban complexity built around public space, as Director; the web magazine Mastering Public Space, a curated collection of global news on public space in open access format, as Managing Editor; and the transdisciplinary practice Museo Spazio Pubblico in Bologna as Curator.
Under my leadership City Space Architecture became a partner of UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2016, and since 2017 is engaged in the General Assembly of Partners (GAP), Research and Academia Partner Constituent Group.
Placemaking in Arab Cities
The Journal of Public Space
Vol 5 n 1 (2020)
Managing Editor: Luisa Bravo
Guest Editor: Mona Helmy
2020: A Year without Public Space under the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Journal of Public Space
Vol 5 n 3 (2020)
Editors: Luisa Bravo and Hendrik Tieben
Read the full programme of the global online initiative (2020)
Public Space and Placemaking in African Cities
The Journal of Public Space
Vol 7 n 1 (2022)
Managing Editor: Luisa Bravo
Convenor: Ayanda Roji
Guest Editors: Tariq Toffa, Josephine M. Malonza
Art and Activism in Public Space
The Journal of Public Space
Vol 7 n 3 (2022)
Editors: Luisa Bravo, Maggie McCormick, Fiona Hillary
Read previous issues
Academic
My expertise is grounded in extensive academic postdoctoral research and teaching in Italy and Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Throughout my academic career, I have held different academic positions, in Italy and abroad and I have been the recipient of prestigious grants such as the Marco Polo scholarship for a postdoctoral research period as Visiting Scholar at IURD – Institute of Urban and Regional Development, College of Environmental Design at University of California Berkeley (USA, 2012) and the Australia Award Endeavour Executive Fellowship, fully funded by the Australian Government, Department of Education and Training, hosted at the Queensland University of Technology, School of Design, Faculty of Creative Industries (Australia, 2018). I am an Adjunct Professor in Urban Design at the University of Florence, School of Humanities and Education. I hold in Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese, and I serve as an associate editor and a peer reviewer for several academic journals.
Read more about me and my academic teaching around the world.
“Dear Dr Bravo, your selection for an Endeavour Fellowship recognises your commitment to outstanding achievement and role as an education ambassador for Australia. Congratulation on joining a selected group of exceptional individuals.”
Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training, Senator for South Australia
Cultural entrepreneur and curator
My work on public space is concerned with artistic innovation, creative practice and social change. I work with artists and activists to develop new concepts of public participation and community engagement, both from a research perspective and context-dependant development. I have established a specific transdisciplinary practice on this topic through the Museo Spazio Pubblico, where I curate different formats of events on an international scale. I also curate the independent Film Festival Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City in Bologna (Italy) and its twin Urban Visions. Architecture and the Future of Cities in Ajman (UAE), both promoted by City Space Architecture.
Servant citizen for the common good
My engagement with the United Nations is aimed at spreading awareness on the importance of public space for sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban development and to work for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted at the Habitat III conference in Quito (2016). My lecture ‘Stand up for Public Space!’ has been included in the UN-Habitat Global Urban Lectures (2017), one of UN-Habitat’s most successful outreach initiatives, gathering expertise from renowned international scholars and professionals who excel in their fields. ‘Stand up for Public Space!‘ is also a global campaign promoted by City Space Architecture that I am leading as principal researcher.