Luca Bertolini

Works at: University of Amsterdam

A short interview with...

Scientific challenges for KiM

I believe a crucial challenge is the development of knowledge that can contribute to our transition to a sustainable mobility system. Our current prosperity and wellbeing remain dependent on forms of mobility that can seriously endanger our future prosperity and wellbeing. How do we resolve this dilemma?

Research to be proud of

I am engaged with various research questions, such as:

How can accessibility concepts and measures be used to achieve synergy between spatial planning and transport planning?
How can transport models be constructively deployed in plan-formation processes?
What are the success and failure factors for the development of transport nodes in the Netherlands and abroad?
How can infrastructure planning contend with irreducible uncertainties?

Affinity with KiM core research themes

KiM has organized its research around six core themes or knowledge lines. My contribution – a spatial planning perspective of mobility – can have added value on multiple fronts, and particularly pertaining to the following core research themes: 'Sustainable mobility, safety and transition'; 'Mobility, accessibility and spatial planning', with an emphasis on spatial-mobility concepts, such as node development; and 'Policy evaluations and assessment frameworks', with an emphasis on process-related aspects.

Position and core scientific research

I have been Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Amsterdam since 2008, with a particular focus on transport, traffic and infrastructure. I engage in research questions pertaining to the interconnections of spatial planning and transport planning, as well as contending with the complexities of planning and policy development and the possibility for intersections between science and practice.

Scientific background

Prior to my current position, I was a postdoc, lecturer and Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam, and a postdoc at Utrecht University. I received my doctorate in 1995 from the Polytechnic University of Turin for research into the development of station locations in Europe. In 1989 I graduated cum laude from the Polytechnic University of Turin's Faculty of Architecture.