Projects

Elisabetta’s work spans several research threads on urban shocks, inequality, and displacement. A selection is below; a full list of grants and collaborations is on the CV.

IMAGO

The SDR-UK Imagery Data Service for Sustainability, Prosperity and Wellbeing. Making satellite imagery useful, usable and used across social research and policy — through data infrastructure, applied case studies, and researcher training. Funded by UKRI ESRC (2024–2029).

Project website

Displacement in disaster regions

Developing methods to estimate internal displacement in real time by triangulating satellite imagery, mobile phone GPS data, and traditional surveys. Applications include the Russo-Ukrainian War and other disaster-affected contexts. Funded by Research England and ESRC. With IOM-DTM, UK government partners, Francisco Rowe, Matt Mason, Rodgers Iradukunda & Andrea Nasuto.

Project Website

FloodTraces

Integrating traditional and digital trace data — satellite imagery, mobile phone signals, and social media — for real-time humanitarian decision-making in flood-affected regions. Funded by Research England (2025–2026). With IOM-DTM and UK government partners.

Project website

Post-Blast Beirut

Investigating how the 4 August 2020 Beirut Blast reshaped vulnerability and inequality across the city. Combines spatial survey data collected in 2018 and 2021 with satellite-derived building damage assessments to track fine-grained changes in urban well-being and household resilience. Funded by GCRF and UCL Small Grants. With UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity, CatalyticAction and Yara Sleiman.

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Economics of Architecture

Do buildings and architectural quality shape economic outcomes in cities? An emerging research thread on high-quality Baukultur, real estate values, and long-term urban outcomes. Funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. With Gabriel Ahlfeldt and Ailin Zhang.

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Density

A research strand on the economic effects of urban density — from a meta-analytic synthesis of 300+ studies globally to policy work on compact urban growth. Some funded by the OECD. With Gabriel Ahlfeldt, OECD, and the World Resources Institute.

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Evaluating Urban Policy

Assessing the causal effects of urban policies on economic and social outcomes — from confiscated mafia real estate assets reallocated to communities in Italy, to conservation planning regulations and the politics of urban heritage across the Global North and South. Funded by LSE and the RGS-IBG. With Filippo Boeri, Marco Di Cataldo, and Nancy Holman.

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Informal Labour & Livelihoods

How do urban residents navigate formal and informal labour markets in contexts of crisis and displacement? Mixed-methods fieldwork in Lebanon on livelihood strategies and job security in the wake of economic collapse. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust. With George Melios, Diala Makki, Yara Sleiman, and UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity.

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Quality of Life in Lebanon

Applied participatory research on quality of life and prosperity in Lebanon, using citizen social science to co-design measurement approaches with communities in Beirut, Tripoli (El Mina), and beyond. Funded by UKRI GCRF and the Leverhulme Trust. With UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity, the RELIEF Centre, CatalyticAction, and the American University of Beirut.

Project Website

FiPal — Financial Inclusion in Palestine

Transforming financial inclusion to finance inclusive prosperity in Ramallah, Palestine. Combines participatory citizen social science with quantitative analysis of financial access, extending the Prosperity Index framework to a new setting. Funded by ESRC (2024–2026). With UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity and Palestinian civil society partners.

Project website