Granata Elena

Elena Granata is Professor of Urban Planning at the ABC Department of the Politecnico di Milano, where she focuses on cities, the environment, and new forms of living. She is Vice President of the School of Civil Economy, where she explores issues related to the economy of places. She has served as Senior Expert in Urban Studies and as a staff Sherpa for the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers within the G20 framework. She is also a co-founder of the research group PlanetB. Her research trajectory moves across cities and landscapes, from contemporary architecture to public space projects, and from climate adaptation initiatives to urban regeneration. She carries out research and consultancy activities for public institutions, foundations, and private organizations, focusing on urban planning, urban regeneration, and climate adaptation.

Career

Degree in Architecture (1996); PhD in Environmental and Spatial Planning Research, Politecnico di Milano (2001); Researcher in the disciplinary sector ICAR/20 (now 08/F1) (2008); Associate Professor (2016); National Scientific Qualification (ASN) for Full Professor (2025).

Research

She works on cities and their economic, social, and environmental transformations; on the environment and climate change; on urban regeneration and its social impacts; and on health policies and spaces.

Selected Publications

Granata E., La città è di tutti. Ciò che ha valore non ha prezzo, Einaudi, Torino, 2026.

Granata E., “Siamo tutti chiamati alla politica”, Raccolta antologica a cura di Petra Pallanch, Le parole di Francesco. Politica, p. 3-13, Roma, ave editore, 2025.

Granata E., Il senso delle donne per la città, Einaudi, Torino, 2023.

Granata E., “Generating commons makes cities alive”, in (a cura di), Rotondi V. Santori P., Rethinking Economics Starting from the Commons. Toward an Economics of Francesco, p. 105-119, Springer, London, 2023.

de Lettera F., Granata E., EcoLove. Perché i nuovi ambientalisti non sanno ancora di esserlo, Edizioni Ambiente, 2022.

de Lettera, F., Granata, E., “GENIUS (IS NOT) LOCI. When places rebirth comes from outside”, in Carta M., Perbellini M.R., Lara-Hernandez J.A, Resilient Communities and the Peccioli Charter: Towards the possibility of an Italian Charter for Resilient Communities (Hardback), pp. 31-41, Springer Nature, England, 2022.

Granata E., Placemaker. Gli inventori dei luoghi che abiteremo, Einaudi, Torino, 2021.

Granata E., Biodivercity. Città aperte, creative e sostenibili che cambiano il mondo, Giunti, Firenze, 2019.

Granata E., Granata A., Teen Immigration. La grande migrazione dei ragazzini, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2019.Granata A., Granata E., L’interculturel à la maison. Une jeunesse africaine en mouvement vers l’Italie, L’Harmattan, Torino-Parigi, 2019.

Community service

Since 2026: Scientific Committee of Scuola Coop.

Since 2026: Scientific Committee of Espazium Quaderni, Mendrisio.

Since 2024, member of the scientific committee of Soul, Festival of Spirituality, Milan.

2023: Member of the Scientific Committee of Città in Scena, Festival of Urban Regeneration.

2023: Member of the Scientific Committee of La Biennale dello Stretto.

2023: Member of the SISMA Research Institute (Italian Scientific Society for Studies on Mafias and Anti-Mafia).

2022: Member of the Scientific Committee of Save the Children Italy.

Since 2022: Member of the Board of Directors of the Ambrosianeum Foundation; Member of the Scientific Committee of the Casa fratelli tutti Foundation; Member of the Scientific Committee and organizer of the Social Weeks of Catholics in Italy (CEI) and, since June 2022, Vice-President of the Committee.

Since 2021: Member of the Scientific Committee of the SOUQ Study Center, Casa della Carità in Milan.

2020: Member of the Scientific Committee of the National Festival of Civil Economy (FNEC).

Since 2019: Member of the Scientific Committee of the School of Civil Economy (SEC).