This doctoral thesis aims to advance the understanding of the role of urban space in driving mobility transitions. By integrating urban planning and mobility studies, the thesis will focus on exploring the origins and trajectories of various sustainable mobility models, examining how they co-evolve with urban planning practices to (re)shape our cities. Key examples –such as superblocks, the 15-minute city, and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)– will be used and assessed across a series of European contexts to illustrate this dynamic and complex process. Ultimately, the thesis will develop a groundbreaking conceptual framework to explain how urban space can serve as a catalyst for mobility transitions. This framework will provide policymakers and practitioners with strategic tools for designing more inclusive, resilient, and efficient mobility systems, helping to redefine the cities of the future. As part of the training programme, the doctoral candidate will collaborate with leading European institutions via secondments, benefiting from interdisciplinary exchange and extending the thesis’s impact within the TRANSFORM network.
The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) is the coordinating partner of TRANSFORM and will host two doctoral candidates: one focused on “Shaping Mobility Transitions: Rebuilding the Concept of Urban Space” and the other on “Conceptualising and Assessing ‘Transitional Urban Spaces’ Through Virtual Reality Experiments”. UPM is the largest technological university in Spain and one of Europe’s leading institutions. It is renowned for its cutting-edge research and its role in training highly skilled globally competitive professionals.
The recruited doctoral candidates by UPM will develop their research within the Transport Research Centre -TRANSyT-, Spain’s largest research centre specialised in transport and land use planning. With a team of approximately 40 researchers, TRANSyT is an international hub, drawing talent worldwide and promoting a dynamic, interdisciplinary network.
Spanish B2 level is preferred but not mandatory
Requirements to be admitted in the doctoral programme can be consulted here.
Julio A. Soria-Lara is a Full Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and the Head of the Department of Transport Engineering, Urban, and Regional Planning at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). He is also a member of the Transport Research Centre at UPM (TRANSyT) and a Tenured Scientist at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Before Madrid, Julio worked at the University of Granada, Zaragoza (Spain), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), and Oxford (UK). Prof. Soria-Lara has built a distinguished and independent research career, serving as Principal Investigator for several international, national, and regional R&D projects. His work focuses primarily on three areas: (i) scenario building; (ii) spatial accessibility; and (iii) travel behaviour. Prof. Soria-Lara masters a variety of methods (both quantitative and qualitative), with a particular focus on bridging the gap between research and practical applications. His work is noted for its innovative approach to testing and validating research outcomes in collaboration with real-world planning users.
Iria Lopez-Carreiro is an Assistant Professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and a member of the Transport Research Centre at UPM (TRANSyT). She holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and a Master’s in City Sciences, both from UPM, as well as a Master's in Architecture from the Universidad de Navarra. After completing her doctoral thesis, she undertook a postdoctoral research year at TU Delft (The Netherlands). With expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods, Dr. Lopez-Carreiro’s work focuses on transport planning and management, transport modelling, spatial planning, Smart Cities, and the sharing economy. She has extensive experience in evaluating and forecasting human behaviour, as well as in developing integrated strategies for urban development and mobility planning to promote sustainability. Between 2021 and 2022, Dr. Lopez-Carreiro worked at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) – Urban Mobility, a body of the European Union, where she supported cities across Europe in their transition to sustainable mobility by bridging the gap between research and practical implementation.
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