RESEARCH Compass
Researcher in Climate Policy, Urban Systems & Sustainability Transitions
I explore how fairness and resilience can be integrated into climate transition pathways,
focusing on urban socio-economic systems, carbon accounting, and climate policy design.
Research Profile
My work focuses on the design of fair and resilient climate transition pathways within urban socio-economic systems.
I integrate climate economics, urban sustainability, and socio-ecological systems thinking to understand
how cities can transition toward low-carbon futures.
Building on my research on fairness in carbon budget allocation in Colombia, I investigate how equity and resilience can be incorporated into urban climate strategies across diverse contexts.
Research Focus
- Climate economics and policy analysis
- Urban socio-ecological systems
- Carbon accounting and mitigation strategies
- Fairness and distributional impacts in climate transitions
Research Statement – Academic Career Compass
My research focuses on the design of fair and resilient climate transition pathways, with a particular emphasis on urban socio-economic and climate policy dynamics as Living Systems.
I am interested in how climate economics, urban sustainability, and socio-ecological systems thinking can be integrated to better understand and guide the transition toward low-carbon societies.
Building on my work on fairness in carbon budget allocation in Colombia, my current research explores how equity and resilience can be incorporated into urban climate strategies across different contexts.
I use a comparative socio-economic systems approach, analyzing cities according to key dimensions such as size, geographic conditions, development level, and urban form. This allows for a structured evaluation of how different urban configurations shape climate mitigation pathways and their distributional impacts.
Methodological Approach – A few examples
I adopt a comparative socio-economic systems approach, analyzing cities based on size,
geographic conditions, development level, and urban form.
Examples of my work:
Case Study: Fairness in Carbon Budget Pathways (Colombia)
This study investigates how fairness conditions can be integrated into carbon budget allocation frameworks, using Colombia as a case study. It analyses how different carbon budget pathways affect the balance between climate mitigation targets and socio-economic development needs, particularly in a Global South context.
The work applies a fairness-oriented climate policy framework, combining carbon accounting principles with equity considerations in emissions allocation.
Key Insight
Carbon budget allocation is not only a technical exercise, but also a normative and distributional challenge that directly affects development pathways and climate justice outcomes.
This highlights the need to integrate fairness principles into climate-economic decision-making frameworks.
Relevance
This work forms the foundation of my research trajectory and contributes to:
- Fairness in climate policy and carbon accounting
- Climate economics and distributional analysis
- Equity considerations in mitigation pathways
It directly informs my current research on just and resilient climate transition pathways across urban systems.
Case Study: Environmental Urban Assessment (Kruidenbuurt)
This study analyses Kruidenbuurt as an urban socio-ecological system, focusing on how urban form, infrastructure, and spatial structure influence environmental performance at the neighbourhood scale.
The assessment applies an environmental urban systems approach, combining spatial analysis with environmental and socio-structural indicators.
It examines how urban design and land-use patterns shape sustainability outcomes, highlighting the interaction between built environment and socio-economic context.
Key Insight
Urban sustainability is strongly influenced by spatial configuration and infrastructure design, not only by environmental metrics alone.
This reinforces the view of cities as integrated socio-ecological systems, where structure and function jointly determine sustainability performance.
Relevance
This work contributes to my broader research on:
- Urban socio-ecological systems
- Fairness and resilience in urban transitions
- Climate-related urban analysis and policy design
It supports the investigation of how urban form affects sustainability and distributional outcomes in climate transitions.
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Case Study: Climate Risk and Adaptation (La Guajira)
This study examines La Guajira in Colombia as a case of high climate vulnerability, focusing on climate change risks and adaptation challenges in a socio-ecological context.
The analysis explores how climate hazards, socio-economic conditions, and territorial factors interact to shape exposure and adaptive capacity.
It applies a climate risk and adaptation framework, combining environmental vulnerability assessment with socio-economic and institutional dimensions.
Key Insight
Climate vulnerability is not only determined by environmental exposure, but also by structural socio-economic conditions and institutional capacity for adaptation.
This highlights the importance of integrating equity and resilience considerations into climate risk analysis.
Relevance
This work contributes to my broader research on:
- Climate risk and adaptation systems
- Fairness in climate vulnerability and policy responses
- Socio-ecological resilience in urban and regional contexts
It supports the analysis of how climate impacts are distributed unevenly across territories and populations, reinforcing the need for just adaptation strategies.
Expected Research Contributions
This research is expected to generate insights at the intersection of living systems theory,
climate economics, and urban sustainability through a socio-economic systems perspective.
A key contribution is the development of fairness-sensitive analytical frameworks
for urban climate policy design.
The research also aims to deepen understanding of distributional and resilience impacts
in low-carbon transitions across diverse urban contexts.
Ultimately, this work contributes to the design of just and resilient climate transition pathways.
Academic & Professional Experience
- University-level teaching in innovation and Design Thinking methodologies
- Experience in blended learning and educational design
- Applied work in sustainability and organizational systems
- Interdisciplinary research in development and knowledge systems
Contact
I am open to PhD opportunities, academic collaborations, and research projects in climate policy and urban sustainability.
Email | dicaromonroy@gmail.com – me@dicaromonroy.com
ResearchGate | https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diana-Carolina-Monroy-Morera
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dicaromonroy/
