Postdoctoral Position: Visual and social perceptions of landscape

USP-CEU welcomes postdoctoral researchers with an excellent track record to apply to the European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) Postodoctoral Felloships or any other R2 reseach calls, such as: ERC Starting Grants, Juan de la Cierva or Ramón y Cajal (Spanish Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation) or Atracción Talento (Madrid Regional Goverment).

Selected candidates will be provided with special assistance for proposal writing and development. Our University has been beneficiary of 7 MSCA PF since 2017, including one MSCA-PF with an evaluation of 100/100 in 2021.

Brief description of Research Group:

The Heritage, Architecture & Landscape Research Group (Patrimonio, Arquitectura y Paisaje, PA&P) works at USP-CEU since 2005. A total of 18 researchers, collaborators, and research assistants from different Universities have contributed to research advances in the field of urban and peri-urban landscape from multidisciplinary backgrounds and perspectives (i.e. architects, historians, sociologists, urban planners, agronomists, landscape architects).

Mostly focused on the city of Madrid and its metropolitan area, the PA&P group has explored the role of green space and infrastructure in urban and peri-urban settings; in terms of landscape perception, heritage conservation, evolution of the urban morphology, and citizens’ place-attachment and well-being.

The group has been granted multiple research projects over the years, both from the Spanish Ministry of Education/Innovation and from private entities. Their members have published over 50 scientific papers, books, and book chapters; and multiple PhD students have completed their thesis within the group.

Group PI: Dr. Eva Juana Rodríguez Romero:

• Orcid: (0000-0003-2550-3774)
• researchgate.net/profile/Eva-Rodriguez-Romero
• Eva Juana Rodríguez Romero - Dialnet (unirioja.es)

Relevant publications and research funding:

• Active research Project: The Peri-urban landscape of Madrid: Views from the memory to the new city [funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovation, 2019-2024]
• Article: Exploring landscape preference through photo-based Q methodology. Madrid seen by suburban adolescents: International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education: Vol 30, No 3 (tandfonline.com)
• Article: Sustainability - Green Infrastructures in the Peri-Urban Landscape: Exploring Local Perception of Well-Being through ‘Go-Alongs’ and ‘Semi-Structured Interviews’ (mdpi.com)
• Article: Landscape Perception in Peri-Urban Areas: an Expert-Based Methodological Approach | Landscape Online (landscape-online.org)
• Article: Tabula non-rasa: go-along interviews and memory mapping in a post-mining landscape designated for urban expansion: Landscape Research: Vol 45, No 1 (tandfonline.com)

Research Project Description: Peri-urban landscapes, assessing visual and social perceptions across Europe

Peri-urban areas in Europe are growing four times faster than urban areas and are predicted to double in surface in the next 30 to 50 years. Despite heterogeneity among cities, these areas have a character of their own, generally determined by the interweaving of grey and green infrastructure. Green infrastructure, in particular, plays a key role in the improvement of living environments: contributing to better environmental quality and perception, providing support for biodiversity, and overall improving public health and well-being. These ecosystem services are especially relevant at a time of global crisis impacting on Europe’s climate and the decline of biodiversity. However, the peri-urban landscape has often been undervalued and understudied, and its perceived potential by urban planners has many times been limited to the sole provision of land for urban needs.

There is a need to better understand peri-urban areas around large cities; to identify how communities use and perceive them, and to track down best practices from different case studies across Europe.

This project aims to address que following questions:

1. How are peri-urban areas perceived in Europe? and
2. What features, elements or common topics are associated with peri-urban areas, how are they perceived by the community, and how do they differ across European cities?

To address these questions, both visual and social perception analyses will be carried out in a selection of case studies in Europe. This will entail fieldtrips and interaction with local communities, conducting a combination of in-depth interviews, go-alongs, photovoice, and Q-methodology techniques with relevant local stakeholders. Visual analysis will also entail sketching and photographic data collection.

Application Requirements:

• Background in: Human geography, Anthropology, Sociology, or Psychology
• Strong skills in qualitative methodologies
• Ability to travel for fieldwork
• Advanced English level

Desired skills:

• Familiarity with qualitative analysis software (NVivo, Atlas.ti)
• Knowledge of Spanish

Scientific keywords: Green infrastructure; peri-urban; perception; place-attachment; qualitative.

An expression of interest shall be sent to rodrom@ceu.es (Attn.: Rodríguez Romero Eva J). Your file should contain the following elements:

☒ A short CV (Max. 2 pages)

☒ A one-page research proposal

☒ A short statement explaining why CEU would be the best host institution for your research.

☒ Two letters of reference

For MSCA-PF 24 call, at the deadline for the submission of proposals (11/09/2024), candidates shall have a maximum of 8 years of postdoctoral research experience and must not have resided or carried out their main activities in Spain formore than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the abovementioned deadline.

Those files received before 15th of June will be considered for MSCA-PF 2024 call. Applications received after may be considered for other calls or future applications after discussion with the candidate.