Researchers

Professional background
I am a lecturer at Economics and Business Department of UOC since 2007. I joined UOC after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Institute of Advanced Studies at Lancaster University (2005-2007) and receiving a PhD in Geography from the University of Manchester in 2005.
 

I am currently located at IN3, where I am directing the Research Programme in Urban Transformation in the Knowledge Society.

I am also associated researcher at the Cultural Political Economy Research Centre (Lancaster University).

Lines of Research

Global Competitiveness and Urban Change
This collaborative project (with Greig Charnock, The University of Manchester) examines urban regeneration currently in process in Poblenou, once the industrial heartland of Barcelona (dubbed the 'Catalan Manchester'), and now the district of the city strategically targeted as the 'space for the concentration of knowledge-intensive activities' by Barcelona City Council. By grounding the research in heterodox social theory, the project aims to provide fresh insights into the changing dynamics of competitive cities in relation to wider globalisation processes, as well as an original analysis of the relationship between planning and governance institutions and communities experiencing these changes on an everyday basis.

Urban Policy Mobilities
This research focuses on ?urban policy mobilities, "the ways in which policy knowledge and policy models move from city to city" (McCann, 2008: 886), and therefore in the increased importance of city networks as mechanisms for the circulation of policy ideas in the society of information and communication. Currently, I am collaborating with colleagues in two research projects: the Anglo-Catalan production of the Barcelona Model (funded by Generalitat de Catalunya) and the business of moving policies (funded by IN3).

Mediterranean Mobilities Research Network
In collaboration with Dr. Javier Caletrío (Lancaster University), we started in 2006 the Mediterranean Mobilities Research Network as a meeting point for researchers of different disciplines and countries working on the issues of the Mediterranean and mobility. In the last two years it has organised various seminars in Lancaster University and in international conferences on topics ranging with geopolitics, migration, tourism, and water politics. It has also promote via web, research dissemination and policy news. The Mediterranean Mobilities Research Network forms part of the Centre for Mobilities Research at Lancaster University. We are currently studying the material conditions for the creation of a common cultural and social space in the Mediterranean.

Selected Publications
Ribera-Fumaz, R. (2009) "Economy: Rethinking Culture and Economy through the Lens of Urban Political Economy." Progress in Human Geography 34, 33, 447-465.
Vivas, J., López, Ò., Ribera, R.(2009) "Nuevas tecnologías y espacios urbanos. Espacios de sociabilidad transitoria en Barcelona." Zainak, 31-32.
Ribera-Fumaz, R., ed. (2009). Integració de mercats. Barcelona: UOC.
Pascual-Molinas, N. and R. Ribera-Fumaz (2008). "Gentrification and Retail in Ciutat Vella, Barcelona". In L Porter and K. Shaw, eds., Whose Urban Renaissance: An international comparison of urban regeneration policies, 181-190. London: Routledge.
Lladós, J.; M.J. Martínez; L. Garay and R. Ribera (2008). El sector de les telecomunicacions a Catalunya. Report to Centre d?Economia Indústrial.
Etxezarreta, M. and Ribera-Fumaz (2008). "Capitalismo, Espacio y Vivienda." In Auge y Crisis de la Vivienda en España, Informes de Economía 5, 4-16. Barcelona: Taifa.
Caletrío, J and R. Ribera-Fumaz (2007) "Mediterranean studies, Braudel and the ?mobility turn? in the social sciences." Ulisses Cibernètic 5, 1-10.
Ribera-Fumaz, R.; P. Vivas and F. González (2007). "Ciudades en la sociedad del conocimiento: una introducción." Papers UOC. 5, Pag. 1-5.