Missions

You will contribute to the European project "EMC2 - The Evolutive Meshed Compact City," whose objective is to study the conditions for the successful requalification and densification of the main roads in the suburban areas of European cities to implement a 15-minute city model adapted to these spaces. The project will focus on six European case studies: the Nice-Côte d'Azur and Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing metropolitan areas in France, the Pisa-Lucca-Versilia and Florence metropolitan areas in Italy, and the cities of Vienna in Austria and Gothenburg in Sweden.
Your main mission will be in WP2, dedicated to assessing the potential of the EMC2 model in the outskirts of European cities. Additionally, you will also participate in WP1 to specify the characteristics of the EMC2 model and in the project dissemination initiatives (WP7). Finally, you will actively contribute to the scientific valorization of the work carried out.

Activities

As part of WP2, you will develop spatial analysis protocols to study the morphological requirements allowing main suburban roads to become central main streets. You will also develop spatial analysis protocols to study the capacity of these axes to catalyze retail and services, also considering the demographic potential around these axes (already calculated by other researchers within the project) and the pedestrian accessibility constraints in the context of the 15-minute city concept. You will apply these protocols to the French case studies and assist in conducting similar analyses in the other European case studies. With the help of other project partners, you will also perform configurational analyses of the French case studies to determine their network of main streets.
Within WP1, you will contribute to specifying the EMC2 model by conducting an online questionnaire aimed at understanding the expectations of the French population regarding the 15-minute city and analyzing its results.
The external dissemination activities in which you will actively participate (WP7) include seminars, various public initiatives, as well as assisting in the design and content creation for the project's website. As part of the scientific valorization of the project, you will work on writing reports and scientific papers and producing databases accessible to the scientific community.

Skills

Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in quantitative geography or geomatics.
Analytical Skills: Spatial analysis (raster and vector approaches) in R or Python environments, network analysis, statistical and geostatistical analysis, AI-based machine learning, digital mapping, large database management, GIS and web-GIS, conducting web surveys, data management plans.
Thematic Skills: Urban analysis, urban morphology, analysis retail and services in urban and suburban space, analysis of the spatial logics of human usages in suburban areas.
General Skills: Autonomy, precision in analysis, ability to propose solutions, capacity to work in an international and interdisciplinary environment, understanding of the collaboration between academic research and urban stakeholders. Writing and oral communication skills in both French and English.

Work Context

The work is part of the European research project “EMC2 - The Evolutive Meshed Compact City. A pragmatic transition pathway to the 15-minute City for European metropolitan peripheries”, financed by Horizon Europe within the call “Driving Urban Transitions”. The project will be carried out by a consortium of four academic research units and four local authorities in four different European countries : UMR ESPACE (CNRS – Université Côte d'Azur – Aix-Marseille Université – Avignon Université), Agence d'Urbanisme Azuréenne and Agence d'Urbanisme de Lille Métropole, in France, SMoG (Chalmers University of Technology) and City of Gothenburg, in Sweden, DESTeC (University of Pisa) and City of Viareggio, in Italy, as well as the Department of Urban Design (Vienna University of Technology), in Austria. The EMC2 project is coordinated by Giovanni Fusco (UMR ESPACE), supported by Meta Berghauser Pont (SMoG), Valerio Cutini (DESTeC), Angelika Psenner (Urban Design) and Laurence Jacquier (AUA) as co-applicants.
You will work under the supervision of the project's scientific director, Giovanni Fusco, while coordinating with the leaders of the various work packages (WPs) regarding your tasks.

Constraints and risks

Workplace: UMR 7300 ESPACE, 98 Bd Herriot, 06200 Nice, France. Possible travel to other sites of UMR ESPACE (Aix-en-Provence, Avignon) and partner institutions within the EMC2 consortium (Lille, Pisa, Gothenburg, Vienna). Contact for information: Giovanni Fusco, CNRS Research Director, UMR 7300 ESPACE: giovanni.fusco@univ-cotedazur.fr
No specific professional risks associated with this position.