Ramon Ribera Fumaz

Catedràtic IN3 - Internet Interdisciplinary Institute

Expert in::

urban policy
urbanism
urban studies
economic development
political economy
digital economy
platforms economy

Research group: TURBA Lab
Area: Social sciences
Area of specialization: City and Community, Network society,
Membership Center: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
UNESCO codes:: 5403, 5401, 540401, 540305, 631106, 620103, 530703

ODS:

My profile

Ramon Ribera Fumaz (degree in Economics from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and MA and doctoral degree in Geography from the University of Manchester) is a professor of Economic and Urban Geography at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and is the group líder of the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA) at the university's Internet Interdisciplinary Institute.

His research explores the urban geographies of capitalism from an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly focusing on the spatial, technological and environmental dimensions of uneven development. His current interests focus on the political geographies of global urbanism, particularly the political economy of digital urbanism.

Files (CV)

Lines of research

The material geographies of digital urbanism

While in the last decade smart city studies have focused on understanding and analysing the implementation of digital solutions in urban governance, the emphasis has more recently shifted to understanding the material infrastructure that makes smart cities and urban digital development possible (e.g. innovation districts, data centres, clouds, 5G, etc.). Drawing on work developed concerning the role of the built environment in the digital economy (Charnock et al., 2014; Cardullo et al., forthcoming), this line of research focuses on the economics and political ecology of the internet infrastructure that enables urban digital transformation.

The economic development of smart cities

There is a reasonably broad consensus among academics that smart city strategies contribute to the colonization of local urban technology markets by large corporations, reinforcing patterns of uneven economic development across cities and countries. Countering these assumptions, our recent research on the topic shows a more complex relationship (Serrano et al., 2020). This line of research explores digital development policies, the local economy and its insertion into global circuits of digital capital (Charnock and Ribera Fumaz, forthcoming).

The political geographies of urban innovation

Smart cities and urban innovation policies are presented as being a universal solution that can be replicated in any urban context in the world and as being sustainable because they are largely digital. In recent years, international urban research has begun to question how easy it is to replicate them in any context (Charnock et al., 2021). This line of research explores models of global urbanism, how they travel, how they are implemented and how they are challenged from below.

Urban innovation and climate change

The pandemic has accelerated the shift toward innovation and experimentation as a form of urban governance that can provide quick and flexible responses to challenges presented by the intensification of the effects of climate change. This line of research wants to help question how urban experimentation and innovation can build fairer and more sustainable cities.

Ramon Ribera Fumaz

Expert in::

ODS:

My profile

Files (CV)

Lines of research

Projects

Technology Solutions

Patents

Spin-Offs

Published works

Teaching activities

Broadcast

Contact