Laura SAIJA

Associate Professor of Urban and regional planning [ICAR/20]

Laura Saija is an associate professor in City and Regional Planning at the University of Catania, Italy. Before joining unict, in 2018, she served for three years as assistant professor the Department of city and regional planning, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, University of Memphis, TN, USA. She earned her PhD in City and Regional Planning and Urban Design at the University of Catania, Italy. Her research interests cross the boundaries of community development, planning and landscape design, and planning theory. Through a Marie Curie Global Research Fellowship, betwen 2011 and 2013, has focused on how universities can play an active role in community development processes inspired by the principles of circular economy and inter- and intra-species solidarity. She is recently researching on how action-research can be used to promote ecological development in the context of shrinking cities and regions.

Recent Selected Publications:

Saija L., Pappalardo G. (2018) “An Argument for Action Research-Inspired Participatory Mapping”. In Journal of Planning Education and Research (JPER),  DOI 10.1177/0739456X18817090

Lambert-Pennington A. K., Saija L., Franchina A. (2018) “From Possibility to Action: An Interdisciplinary Action-Learning School Dealing with Waste”. In Cambio. 8(15): 73-87.

Raciti A., Saija L. (2018) “From Ecosystem Services to Ecological Devices: The Coped Summer School Experience In The Simeto River Valley, Italy”. In Journal of Urban Management - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2018.04.005

Saija L. (2016). La Ricerca-Azione in Pianificazione Territoriale e Urbanistica. Milano: Franco Angeli.

Academic Year 2024/2025


Academic Year 2021/2022


Academic Year 2020/2021


Academic Year 2019/2020


Academic Year 2018/2019
  • planning theory
  • resaerch epistemology in urban planning and design
  • action-research in city and regional planning and design
  • environmental community-based planning
  • planning and circular economy for social change