Beatriz Pineda

Social scientist, urban planner, and trained architect with 17+ years of professional experience working across Spain, the Netherlands, and Europe on urban regeneration and post-carbon transformations. I hold a PhD in Urban Studies (Netherlands), an MSc in Urban Studies, cum laude (Netherlands/USA), and a BA+MA in Architecture with a specialization in Urban Planning (Spain).

In my current role as Research Fellow at RMIT Europe, I'm Interim Lead of the thematic area 'Inclusive Cities and Communities', working towards advancing the research agenda of the sub-theme 'Decarbonization & Housing'. My ongoing investigation focuses on One-Stop-Shops as governance nodes for energy transitions, where I'm exploring the angles of sufficiency and standardization. This research is grounded in social practice theory, which has constituted the cornerstone of my academic work in the last decade. I believe a deep understanding of everyday social practices and how they are socially organized and reproduced can open up new pathways to accelerate the energy transition.

I have led and contributed to multiple EU-funded research and innovation projects focusing on Plus Energy Buildings, Positive Energy Districts, and user-centric approaches, with a strong emphasis on co-creation and citizen and stakeholder engagement, to improve the design, governance, and implementation of new technologies. My interdisciplinary profile enables me to bridge social research, urban policy, and technical design, translating cultural and social insights into actionable strategies that support built environment innovations. I bring extensive experience in research leadership, project acquisition, consortium building, and MSc-level teaching in international academic and applied research contexts.