Francisco Santos

Francisco Santos studied Spatial Planning at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where he also obtained a Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems and Territorial Modelling Applied to Spatial Planning. His academic work explored how territories change over time, with a particular interest in land-use change, regional disparities and agricultural dynamics. He then joined the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy, as a Scientific Trainee in GIS, developing EU-scale data workflows that brought together environmental and agricultural datasets to support policy-relevant research. In September 2026, he started his PhD at the Department of Spatial Economics of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, through the JRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme and with partial funding from the LIFE CO-ACT project.

His background in spatial planning and GIS provides the foundation for his research on the tension between housing provision and urban greenness in European cities. He is particularly interested in how cities can accommodate housing needs while preserving and expanding green space, and how these decisions affect different neighbourhoods and population groups. His doctoral research examines the trade-offs between urban development, environmental quality and climate adaptation, exploring how spatial planning can contribute to greener and more equitable cities.