RTD partner

Ralph Horne is Professor of Geography and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation for the College of Design and Social Context at RMIT University Australia.
He is interested in social and policy change to support sustainable urban development and has a specific research interest in low carbon urban transitions, housing and households. He combines research leadership and participation in research projects concerning the environmental, social and policy context of production and consumption in the urban environment. 

Marta Fernandez, MSc (Granada), PhD (UCL), CEng, FRSA, leads RMIT Europe following senior management roles in the UK, including Global Research Leader at international consultancy Arup.
She has a strong interest in urban wellbeing, particularly the impact of design and technology for healthy ageing and has been a member of European expert panels for nature-based solutions in cities, active ageing and the built environment.
Dr Fernandez holds honorary appointments at University College London and Imperial College Business School. She is chair of the European Construction Technology Platform’s Active Ageing and Design Committee as well as a member of the platform’s Steering Committee. She is also on the Scientific Advisory Board for Eurac Research and the Research Advisory for the International Well Building Institute. 

Dr. Beatriz Pineda Revilla is a Research Fellow at RMIT Europe and currently works on the Horizon2020 Cultural-E – Climate and cultural-based solutions for Plus Energy Buildings. She holds a MA in Architecture with a specialization in Urban Planning, a MSc in Urban Studies, and a PhD in Social Sciences from the University of Amsterdam (UvA). She has over 15 years of experience in topics that range from food systems, food waste, energy, sustainable lifestyles, citizen participation, behavioural change, urban governance and social innovation. Her work combines different disciplines (sociology, psychology, human geography, experimental design) and methodologies ((digital) ethnographic action research) and covers overlapping scales, from the regional/urban/neighbourhood scale to the more intimate sphere of the household. In previous research, conducted between New York, Berlin and Amsterdam, Beatriz explored food-related practices in urban agriculture projects, the potentialities of practice-oriented food planning, examined the ritualization of household food practices and its impact on preventing food waste and addressed the role of urban communities in shaping social norms to achieve energy conscious lifestyles, among others. In her most current work, she is tackling citizen engagement and exploring the potentials of energy citizenship in developing PEDs (Positive Energy Districts) and investigating how PEB (Plus Energy Building) residents’ lived experiences and practices affect and influence the design of energy efficient PEB technologies.