Dr Roberta Nicchia

Aims and expectations

DesignBuild Studio is a process that builds communities of people. In my personal experience, through DBS individual students become a community involved in improving not only their education, but also their social and environmental context. Students coming from different countries and indigenous communities overcome cultural and social barriers through the building process. Local administrations, NGOs and universities cooperate around one shared objective. My personal expectation is that EDBKN amplifies the opportunity to join this unique experience for students and local communities all over the world.

Short CV

Roberta Nicchia is an architect, has an international Master’s Degree in Spatial Planning for Sustainable Urban Systems and a PhD in Environmental Engineering. Her main areas of interest are urbanization and spatial planning in developing countries, with a specific focus on urban poor, urban informality and inclusive decision-making processes. After having participated to the Praktikumsseminar Mexico of the TU-Berlin as a student, she proposed and coordinated Archintorno’s DesignBuild Studios with indigenous communities of the Oaxaca state. She has also participated in slum-upgrading programs in Mexico City and in the elaboration of spatial plans in the small towns of Caia District, Mozambique. She has been visiting professor at the UNAM in Mexico City and at the GUC in Cairo. She collaborates with the research group on Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Trento, where she teaches since 2013 in master degree courses on the topic of urbanization in Third World countries. She is currently architect at the municipality of Naples, for the coordination of URBACT projects and networks on integrated urban development policies.