M. (Martina) Gentili

M. (Martina) Gentili

Profile

Biography

After her BSc in Architecture at the University of Roma Tre and her research MSc in Urbanism at TU Delft, Martina Gentili went on to do her PhD in Urban Studies at the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L’Aquila. Her PhD research is about housing issues for lower-middle class households in the Italian context and how these are connected with the institutional and political environment.

Her research interests include issues of housing affordability and shortage, and the relation between housing and planning systems. She is fascinated by how peculiar cultural or socio-political features - such as the type of public-private relationship, the level of corruption or the type of welfare regime - can impact the housing and the planning system. In particular, she has conducted research into issues of housing shortage and residential vacancy levels in Mediterranean countries, and how these might be linked to cultural features and the characteristics of the housing and welfare systems.

In her current role as postdoctoral researcher at the MBE department of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment she is working on two different, but interrelated projects

The Horizon 2020 project UPLIFT aims to provide insight into the structural drivers of intergenerational inequalities within the European Union, focusing on how actively involving vulnerable young people in the policy making process could help develop innovative policy solutions. One of the urban areas in which this new method will be tested is the city of Amsterdam. Here, new housing concepts for young people will be developed in collaboration with housing association De Key and the residents themselves.

The 1M Homes initiative is an interdisciplinary research - in collaboration with all four departments of the Faculty of Architecture - on the current housing crisis and possible solutions. The housing and urbanization challenge relates to several inherent values. It is not just about constructing as many dwellings as possible, but doing so in a sustainable, climate adaptive and inclusive manner. How can these different values be aligned and united through the use of new modes of governance, financing structures, planning, production methods, housing concepts and designs?

Expertise

Housing affordability; Homeownership; Middle class; Young adults housing pathways; Housing and planning policy

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Publications