I've loved playing games since I was a kid and I've always been passionate about cities. You can guess; SimCity was my favourite game in my twenties. And I kept the same enthusiasm for working on urban development since I started my career 25 years ago, approaching cities primarily from an economics and management perspective. During these years, most of my assignments have been related to urban strategy consulting and international project development. I participated in developing dozens of successful international projects, from URBACT, European Urban Initiative and Interreg Europe to North-West Europe, Central Europe, Danube, Life, Creative Europe, and Horizon. 
In recent years, my interest in urban economics gradually shifted to social innovation, citizen involvement and urban adaptation to climate change. I developed and implemented several projects and performed expert assignments in these areas. During the previous URBACT programme, I was the Lead Expert of the SIBdev Network on social impact bonds, a fascinatingly innovative topic. 
It is often said that "the more we know, the more we know we don't know". And this is also true for cities, especially nowadays when we face so many unprecedented challenges. But the more we don't know, the more we can learn from others: from other cities, other people, other regions of Europe, small towns or big cities. 
I firmly believe URBACT offers an excellent opportunity for cities, stakeholders and experts to get involved in the knowledge exchange and learning process on a European level and provide better answers to the problems that cities must address to satisfy their citizens' needs. And it would be a great pleasure and honour for me to help cities in this learning process as a Lead Expert or Ad-hoc Expert.

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I have been involved in the URBACT program as an expert since its first edition. I played a role in networks, or as a thematic/ad hoc expert, as a team leader, but also as consultant for cities involved in URBACT networks and even as a trainer. I always appreciated this initiative; I am convinced of the absolute necessity of this type of action in the panorama of European Urban Policies. I can affirm, after many years of collaboration with URBACT, that I have been an urban planner who contributed a lot to spreading its principles and values, but always with a critical eye: we must learn from practice and be able to question ourselves as experts to change and improve. I have accumulated through URBACT experience and knowledge that can still be useful, not only for the cities, but also in dealing with new generations of experts, and I still have a lot of energy to give and creativity to express for this initiative. I am an urban planner who comes from the world of environmental engineering and has embraced the philosophy of urban policy design and strategic planning, dealing extensively with urban regeneration and urban poverty, both at professional and academic level. I am happy to see climate change issues at the centre of the political agenda, but these must be combined with the value of culture and heritage to revive the economy of many cities and neighbourhoods in Europe.We have to learn and work to promote sustainable development through the active involvement of local communities, to make inclusive urban planning, to enlarge the arena responsible for the critical decisions affecting quality of life in our cities.

 

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Researcher, consultant, and portfolio manager of cooperation and R&I projects, as deputy director of URBASOFIA in Bucharest, Romania. Currently serving as the president of the Romanian Professional Planners Association (APUR) and Vice President for Communication of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP).

With a Ph.D. in instruments for integrated strategic planning in multi-level urban contexts, my main drive is bridging development and knowledge gaps in planning by working with authorities and local communities to co-create visions, supporting technological adaptation and change management, test pilot projects and new urban policies. Some of her research topics include designing and implementing urban programs pioneering digital transformation, nature-based solutions (NBS), carbon neutrality, social innovation, and multi-level governance solutions.

I've also been involved in writing, implementing, and supporting city access to international research & innovation and cooperation projects, mostly under flagship European Commission programs. As a planner, I've worked on several national and regional studies, integrated urban development strategies for middle-sized cities and metropolitan areas in the EU, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, and sectoral strategies.

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Urban Planner: strategic spatial planning & architecture

I have a wide understanding on strategic planning due to a rich expertise and in elaborating and coordination architectural projects within interdisciplinary teams for designing complex residential, commercial, reconversion projects in historical areas, office and industrial buildings and coordinate complex urban planning project such as zonal plans of important parts of large cities (“The actualization of the Urban Zonal Plan of District 6, Bucharest”).

 

An international perspective on affordable housing provision

I have deep knowledge on affordable housing provision through planning practice and a Master degree International Development and Planning focused on cities of the Global South and housing provision for disadvantaged groups. My research focused on how various aspects of the historical context can have a strong impact on choices people make on housing and how the public administration can find feasible solutions for these social groups.

 

Expertise in European Territorial Cooperation: URBACT cooperation programme

My activity in the last 10 years was focused on European cooperation within the role of National Authority in URBACT and National URBACT Point with the general mission of explaining the URBACT method and guiding cities in their ambitious path for achieving a more integrated sustainable urban development. Moreover, I have focused on enhancing dialogue between cities on national level in order to have a shared understanding and richer knowledge on sustainable actions.

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SOCIAL INNOVATION (Social Economy, Social Enterprises, Work Integration Social Enterprise, Social Inclusion, Community-led local development based on social economy, Socially Responsible Public Procurement, etc.). Delivering training in Social Entrepreneurship and Management of Social Enterprises, consultancy for social enterprises startups, research on various social economy topics, involved in projects related to local strategies based on social economy. From 2012 to 2014 - a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Social Business, and since 2013 -  a member of the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social, and Cooperative Economy.

EDUCATION (higher education, adult learning, lifelong learning programs, Erasmus+ projects, etc.).  Academic experience since 1998, delivering Master's and Bachelor's courses on various topics from Business Economics and Social Sciences. Certified Trainer. Since 2015 -  a Eurydice Expert at National Unit, working on National Education System and various European comparative reports.

LOCAL ECONOMY (entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, SMEs, job and skills, local development strategies,  financial inclusion, etc.). Working in entrepreneurship since 2010, actively involved in many projects as a trainer, consultant & mentor for startups, and researcher on various entrepreneurship topics.Involved in projects related to local development strategies based on social economy or in small communities.

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Anamaria is a behavioural-informed economist and leader of urban innovation practices with over 15 years of international experience. In her work she strongly combines her experiences as social innovator and researcher to both create and support knowledge formation and exchange around future-oriented topics such as: (1) new governance frameworks and public sector innovation labs, (2) future of work and skills, (3) role of arts and culture, as well as wellbeing norms and standards for strengthening social connection, purpose and a growth model beyond GDP, (4) climate adaptation. 

She is founder of Urban INC- Urban Insights Center and works regularly with URBACT, the European Urban Initiative, UN-Habitat and World Bank.

Based on her cross-sectoral expertise of systems thinking and new governance models, she has supported as Lead Expert two URBACT networks- Urb-inclusion (on urban poverty topic) and Tourism-friendly Cities (on sustainable tourism). Moreover, she has been ad-hoc expert for several other networks (Gendered Landscape, DigiPlace, Playful Paradigm II, Co4Cities,) and has been an invited contributor and speaker to the URBACT e-Universities, Festivals and Campus.

Anamaria holds an MA in International Affairs with a specialization in International development and cities and urbanization from The New School for Public Engagement, New York City, USA (graduated in 2012) and a PhD in Economics from Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania (awarded in 2021) on the topic of behavioural principles for municipal innovation public policies. She has been awarded several scholarships for her academic work- including the prestigious Fulbright Award.

Other key achievements:

• Managed and co-designed, Cluj Future of Work, funded through the Urban Innovative Actions call III and co-financed through ERDF 2014-2021.  Coordinated the work of the 10 partner’s consortium, in cooperation with Cluj-Napoca municipality. The actions implemented included: 3 research reports on work patterns and local economy structure, 2 upskilling and entrepreneurship program, place-based interventions for an inclusion programme, innovation grants and key investments in R&D infrastructure related to culture and creative industries and digital transition in order to prepare the city for the major transformations around work patterns in the next 20 years. The project has received significant European recognition for its contributions towards Cohesion Policy implementation, being selected by the UIA Secretariat both as a good practice example of an integrated approach and of a green transition approach.
• Lead Researcher for the study on good practices for Integrated Approach in Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) projects.
• Founder of Romania’s first urban public innovation lab between 2017-2022.

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