Dr Monia Del Pinto

MSc Architectural Engineering PhD

Pronouns: She/her
  • Lecturer in Sustainable and Resilient Urbanism

Research groups and centres

Publications
ORCiD Google Scholar
Monia Del Pinto

Research

I work at the intersections of architecture, urban planning, heritage studies, and disaster studies, aiming innovating methodologies and tools for effective disaster risk reduction at the urban scale.

Key research projects

  • DAEDALHUSS Pilot Study on Urban Heritage and Climate Change (Designating All Encompassing Disaster-risk Assessment on the Layout of Historical Urban Streets and Squares), developing global methodology and universal parameters to assess vulnerability to climate-induced hazards associated to the spatial networks in heritage cities, for different categories of pedestrians
  • Urban Form and Disaster Risk - Spatial Vulnerability (SV) research where I isolated the disaster risk potential associated to the urban spatial networks in earthquake-prone settlements. The study developed a methodology and workflow for SV assessment and visualization, integrating space syntax analysis and GIS modelling. The work provided theoretical and methodological advancement in urban morphology and disaster studies, and tools in support of urban disaster risk assessment in ordinary and emergency planning, and post-disaster reconstruction

Current research activity

  • EU Cooperation on Science and Technology (COST) Action (May 2025)
  • Project: Global Network on Culture Heritage Conservation Under Climate Change (Go2CHANGE). Role: Climate Risk Assessment Working Group Lead
  • EPSRC Loughborough University Impact and Knowledge Exchange Accelerator (July 2024) Project: Procedural Loughborough: A dynamic digital twin for urban evolution and facility allocation. Role: Co-investigator

Recently completed research projects

  • Vice-Chancellor Independent Research Fellowship. DAEDALHUSS Pilot Study on Urban Heritage and Climate Change (Designating All Encompassing Disaster-risk Assessment on the Layout of Historical Urban Streets and Squares)

Recent publications

  • Del Pinto, , Palaiologou, G., Chmutina, K., Bosher, L. (2025), Investigating space morphology in disaster: the role of spatial-syntactic and morphological elements in vulnerability of earthquake-prone historical urban areas, Urban Morphology Journal 29(1) pp 64-86 https://doi.org/10.51347/UM29.0004
  • Angel, D., Chmutina, K., Haines, V., Del Pinto, M. (2024) ‘Effing Awful!’: developing audio representation as a medium for conveying people's experiences of flooded homes, Disaster Prevention and Management, 34(1) 90-102 pp. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm-01-2024-0033
  • Del Pinto, M, Chmutina, K., Bosher, L., Palaiologou, G.; (2024) The role of the spatial network in urban disaster risk variations: reimagining the notion of spatial vulnerability at the urban scale, Int J Disaster Risk Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-024-00554-w
  • Del Pinto, M., Chmutina, K., Bosher, L., Palaiologou, G., (2024), The national and local dimension of the Italian Civil Protection system: evolution and implementation of DRR policies in: Forino, G., Disasters and Changes into Society and Politics. Contemporary Perspectives from Italy, Bristol University Press
  • Del Pinto, M., Jackson, C.D., (2023) Building Synergies for Cultural Heritage: insights from theory and practice, In Jigyasu, R. Chmutina, K., Handbook on Cultural Heritage and Disaster Risk Management, Routledge
  • Del Pinto, M. (2023) ‘From theory to practice: Insights from the pathway to implement DRM measures for cultural heritage sites’, in Jigyasu, R., Kim, D., Laka, S., Good Practices for Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage, Routledge, 2023, pp. 119-128, DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003356479
All publications

Teaching

Undergraduate

  •  Design Skills Contemporary Planning

Postgraduate

  • Disaster Risk Management in the Built Environment

Profile

I am an internationally recognised researcher and educator with strong international and interdisciplinary academic, teaching, and professional experience. My work lies at the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and disaster studies, specifically focusing on the role that built environment transformations (through architectural and planning interventions) play in disaster risk creation. My research develops theories and methods to enhance urban resilience, with its applications relevant not only to academia but, most importantly, to the broader society, including policymakers, disaster-affected communities as well as built environment professionals.

In 2023 I was awarded a Vice-Chancellor Independent Research Fellow in the School of Architecture, Building, and Civil Engineering, developing my research on urban form and disaster risk within the DAEDALHUSS Pilot Study.

I have a PhD in Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction from Loughborough University, and a MSc in Architectural Engineering from Universita’ degli Studi di L’Aquila (Italy).

I was trained in the UNESCO International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto (Japan). I am active in the area of Disaster Risk Management For Cultural Heritage, where I operate in synergy with a network of international and UK academic and non-academic partners. My communication and training activities for integrated approach to heritage and DRR are aimed at built environment professionals, heritage professionals, and civil protection.

Since 2014 I have been teaching architecture-related disciplines within international and multicultural contexts between Italy, Turkey, and the UK. As a lecturer, I worked in the School of Fine Arts and Architecture at Antalya International University (Turkey), teaching in the areas of Urban Design and Sustainability, and Construction Materials and Technologies (2015-2017).

As a built environment professional, between 2010 and 2015 I operated in the post-earthquake reconstruction in L’Aquila (Italy), where I was involved in projects of retrofit and restoration of RC and traditional stone masonry structures (2010-2015).

At Loughborough University, I also worked as Doctoral Leader in the Institute of Advanced Studies (2020), co-chaired the ABCE Hub Committee (2018-2021) and joined, then led, the Doctoral Researchers Representative team in the ABCE School (2018-2020).

Awards

  • Highly commended ABCE Early Career researcher Award (2025)
  • C-DICE Research Development Grant (2023)
  • Loughborough University Doctoral Prize Fellowship (2023)
  • Loughborough University Doctoral College Research Student Prize (2020)
  • Highly commended in ABCE Doctoral Researcher Excellence Award (2020)
  • Finalist in the Santander Impact Award (2019)

External activities

  • ICCROM International training Course on Integrated Urban and Territorial Planning (IUTC) – DRM and CCA Specialist
  • ICCROM Urban Heritage for Sustainable Development Programme (H4SD) - academic advisor
  • Member of the Interdisciplinary pan-Wales network for Climate Heritage (September 2023)
  • Invited expert at the OAR and Italian Civil Protection professional webinar series on post-earthquake reconstruction (November 2022)
  • Guest lecturer at the 2021 ISAR International Architecture Summer School on Post Disaster Reconstruction, ‘Reviving depopulated towns’ (July 2021)
  • Invited expert at the ICCROM international training course ‘First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis’ (November 2019)

Key collaborators

  • ICCROM International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property