Oriol Nel·lo

A geographer specialising in urban studies and territorial planning, subjects on which he has published a good number of books and articles, he has a PhD in Geography from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a master’s degree in International Affairs from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He has been director of the Barcelona Institute for Metropolitan Studies (1988-1999), a member of the Catalan Parliament (1999-2003), and Secretary for Territorial Planning of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia, 2003-2011). In this latter area, he promoted the drafting of the Law on Neighbourhoods (2004) and the Law on Regulation and Improvement of Residential Areas with Urban Planning Deficits (2009).

He is currently a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies, a professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, director of the Research Group on Energy, Territory, and Society, and president of the Barcelona Neighbourhoods Plan Advisory Board.