I’m a transdisciplinary researcher, planner, and practitioner interested in how cities can be more just, diverse, and regenerative.
I study the messy realities of urban life—how people mix, move, and coexist, and how planning and policy shape these dynamics in ways that often go unnoticed. I’m drawn to the invisible social interactions that shape public spaces, the everyday negotiations of diversity, and the more-than-human entanglements that sustain urban environments.
My work sits at the intersections of social justice, ecology, and spatial complexity. I collaborate with communities, artists, and activists to explore alternative futures—whether through participatory mapping, creative practices, storytelling, or rethinking urban governance. As a co-founder of The Alliance for Praxis Research (APR) and the Praxis Lab at RMIT, I see research and education as tools for action, where critical thought and practice come together to challenge dominant narratives and prefigure alternative futures.
At heart, I’m a curious observer of cities, a practitioner who questions the status quo, and someone who believes that research should not just describe the world but also help to change it.
Co-founder of The Alliance for Praxis Research
PhD in Art, Design and Architecture (Monash University)
BA in Environmental Analysis and Management with Honours (UFSCar, Brazil)
MSc in Urban and Regional Planning (Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain)
MSc in Urban Engineering (UFSCar, Brazil)
Projects
Social Diversity and Housing
During my PhD, I mapped social diversity in Melbourne, creating a profile of different types of diverse neighbourhoods and drawing on ideas from Superdiversity literature. I was interested in what it actually means to live in a diverse area—how people encounter strangers in public spaces and what shapes those interactions.
Through this work, I realised how important Melbourne’s social housing towers are in sustaining ethnic diversity in the inner city. Now, I’m working with a team at CUR (Centre for Urban Research) to map and document this through both data and ethnographic research.
Community Indicators for Regenerative Circularity
With Corey Ferguson and the Kensington Circular Economy Precinct Community Group (KCEPCG), I’m working to highlight the impact of grassroots initiatives on circularity—especially regenerative projects like the Kensington Food Forest.
Corey and I also have two other related projects:
• Waste in Commons, exploring waste as a shared resource
• Clothes Swap at Catalyst Social Centre, pushing for more accessible circular fashion
Catalyst Social Centre
With the APR crew, I help keep Catalyst Social Centre open to the community on Fridays and organised a couple of events there. The aim here is bringing researchers and collaborators into the space and strengthening connections. Right now, I’m also supporting the launch of the University for Social Change, a free, community-led education space led by LASNET.
Regeneration and Indigenous Knowledge
With my APR colleagues and the support of Dr. N’arweet Carolyn Briggs AM, we’ve been slowly unpacking what it means to be immigrants and uninvited guests on this land, especially through our relationship with Water Country. This has led to transformative relationships and also some cool research outputs, such as a walk, a zine, and now an exciting project for Fringe 202x.
Praxis Lab RMIT
With my APR colleagues and the support of Libby Porter and CUR, we are working to embed Praxis within academia, inspired by Paulo Freire’s philosophy of critical action and reflection. We hosted a workshop last year and have ambitious plans for 2025.
Interactive Mapping as Research Impact
I’m passionate about mapping as a tool for research and activism, and I’ve been developing projects on StoryMaps to bring complex urban issues to life. So far, I’ve created with researchers from the Monash urban lab:
• A historical narrative on industrial zones in Melbourne
• A contemporary analysis of industrial job diversity in the city
Currently, I’m collaborating with Rebecca Olive to launch an interactive map of Swimmable Cities, starting with Melbourne.
Experience
2020-Now
Monash University
2022-Now
RMIT University
2021-2024
Monash University
Research Assistant | Urban Lab
Conducted research, GIS analysis, and published two articles and StoryMaps for the ARC project Remaking Post-Industrial Plans: Urban Industrial Zoning Past and Future.
Teaching | The Urban Age and Client Based Research
Coordinated by Wendy Steele (2022) and Alexandre Faustino (2023–24), The Urban Age examines urbanization, migration, mobility, and governance. I also worked with Ben Cooke on client-based research.
Teaching | Architecture and the City and Planning History
​I worked as a tutor and lecturer in the Undrained studio with Mark Romei and Ana Lara Heyns, exploring the role of drained creeks in urban futures. I also tutored Planning Theory (Master’s) with Liz Taylor.
2023-Now
RMIT University
Research Assistant | Centre for Urban Research
I’ve collaborated with David Kelly on mapping social diversity in Melbourne’s social housing and examining racial exclusion in public housing demolitions. I’m also developing an interactive Swimmable Cities map with Rebecca Olive.
Education
2020- 2024
Monash University
2017-2018
Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain
2015-2017
Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil
2011-2014
Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil
PhD in Art, Design and Architecture
My PhD focused on investigating how social diversity distribution relates to the urban space configuration and their combined outcomes on human interactions happening in public spaces.
MSc in Urban and Regional Planning
My second master’s degree, with a more practical approach. My life costs and research project were funded by Instituto Electro Brasil (Iberdrola Foundation).
MSc in Urban Engineering
Master’s degree where I developed the research entitled “guidelines for the conception of low environmental impact urban projects”. It was funded by FAPESP.
B(Hons) in Environmental Management And Analysis
Bachelor where I involved myself in research projects and extension programs devoted to the community. The main subjects and skills I developed were in the fields of urban environmental planning, geoprocessing, ecology, restauration ecology and environmental education.