Université Libre de Bruxelles

The Laboratory on Landscape, Urbanism, Infrastructure and Ecologies (LoUIsE) is a transdisciplinary laboratory of the faculty of architecture La Cambre-Horta of the Université libre de Bruxelles. LoUIsE is actively involved in transdisciplinary action research projects with focus on themes of urban inclusion, urban economy, urban ecology and sustainable urban water management. Specifically, the LoUIsE team is responsible for facilitating five participatory co-analysis workshops and five backcasting roundtables within the five Urban Living Labs (ULLs). Their approach involves working closely with local partners to activate the ULLs, aiming to investigate existing socio-economic dynamics and environmental issues through a participatory co-design process. Ultimately, this participatory approach leads to the negotiation of a preferred scenario (backcasting roundtable) with a multitude of local stakeholders, facilitating the implementation of Integrated Climate Adaptation solutions within the ULLs.

Our cases

The Brussels ULL proposes to work on the district of the Villas de Ganshoren, within the municipality of Ganshoren in the north end of the Brussels-Capital Region.

Meet the team

Luisa Moretto
Professor at ULB's Faculty of Architecture
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Luisa Moretto, a professor at ULB’s Faculty of Architecture, holds a PhD in Analysis and Governance of Sustainable Development from the University of Venice. Her expertise lies in alternative water service provision systems, particularly in service co-production between public operators and community-based organizations. She has led various research projects on urban development, water management, and sanitation in the Global South. Some notable projects include ARES-CDD project on sustainable urban development in Ethiopia, FNRS projects on typologies of water service co-production, and Horizon Europe project on democratic challenges through co-production in cities. She also has experience with international organizations such as Cities Alliance and the Inter-American Development Bank. Formerly, she coordinated N-AERUS, the Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanization in the South
Giuseppe Faldi
Lecturer and Post-Doctoral Researcher
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Giuseppe Faldi, a lecturer and post-doctoral researcher at the LoUIsE Laboratory, holds a PhD in Sustainable Development and International Cooperation from Sapienza University of Rome. His research during his doctoral studies focused on climate change adaptation planning, particularly vulnerability assessment and participatory scenario analysis. Currently, his post-doctoral work delves into place-based approaches in infrastructure planning and the co-production challenges of water and sanitation services in vulnerable urban areas. His research explores socio-ecological and socio-spatial dimensions of co-production and develops evaluation approaches for its sustainability. Thanks to his experience on participatory scenario, he actively contributes to the construction of the WP4 methods, especially on backcasting scenario and stakeholder engagement
Andrea Aragone
PhD Candidate
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Andrea Aragone is currently a PhD candidate in a joint program between the faculties of architecture at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and IUAV University of Venice. He is a researcher within the Laboratory on Landscape, Urbanism, Infrastructure, and Ecologies (LoUIsE) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. His primary interests lie at the intersection of urban transformations and socio-ecological processes. He has conducted research on the relationship between urban transformations and water dynamics, as well as on local and regional planning, and participatory design. In collaboration with his colleagues from the LoUIsE Laboratory and Lulea University of Technology, he coordinates the WP4, which actively conducts testing, in partnership with local public and private stakeholders, to explore the conditions and principles of Integrated Climate Actions (ICA) through NbS design solutions within the five Urban Living Labs (Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bucharest, Romania; Brussels, Belgium; Skellefteå, Sweden; and Turin, Italy).