Pablo Navarrete Hernandez

School of Architecture and Landscape

Lecturer in Landscape Planning

Dr Pablo Navarrete-Hernandez
Profile picture of Dr Pablo Navarrete-Hernandez
p.navarrete@sheffield.ac.uk
Arts Tower

Full contact details

Pablo Navarrete Hernandez
School of Architecture and Landscape
Arts Tower
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
Profile

I am a Lecturer in Landscape Planning at the Department of Landscape Architecture at University of Sheffield. I have previously held positions as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Studies at Universidad de Chile, Research Associate in the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI-DAStU), Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS) at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), and Visiting Scholar in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (MIT-DUSP) and the Latin America and Caribbean Centre at the London School of Economics. I am co-founder of the experimental big-data analysis platform urban-experiment.com.

I have worked as an architect and urban planner in the private and public sectors, including local and central government. In particular, I worked as an urban planner for La Cisterna Council in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Chile and Ministry of Transport of Chile, and as a consultant for the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

In 2013, I was appointed as the urban and regional policy advisor of Chilean president Michelle Bachelet's presidential campaign, leading on the housing, urban planning, and regional development sections of her manifesto. These policy proposals were then implemented by the Ministries of Housing and Urban Development, Economy, Transport, and by the National Commission of Urban Development (CNUD).

Qualifications

I hold an Architecture Degree (equivalent to RIBA parts 1, 2 and 3) from the Universidad de Chile, a double MSc in Urban Policy from Sciences-Po Paris and the London School of Economics (LSE), and a PhD in Regional and Urban Planning from LSE. 

Research interests
  • The impact of the built environment on emotions and perceptions
  • Fear of crime in the urban environment: triggers and solutions
  • Built environment design to promote sustainable behaviour.
  • The spillover of nature into societal outcomes: cognitive, mental and physical health
  • Urban environments that promote inclusion and exclusion 

My research is cross disciplinary and policy relevant, operating at the intersection of urban design and planning, public policy, behavioural science and environmental psychology. I investigate the relationship between the built environment, human behaviour and emotions to promote sustainable, healthy and inclusive futures for cities (an approach I term urban behavioural science or UBS).

My research tackles questions such as:

  • What is the role of urban planning and design in shaping people's emotions and behaviour?
  • Can neighbourhood-level green infrastructure promote residents’ emotional wellbeing and mental health?
  • Can UBS facilitate the adoption of low-carbon urban infrastructure and behaviour?
  • Can UBS contribute to creating more diverse and inclusive urban environments?

I use primary causal quantitative research, conducted both online and in field experiments, complemented with qualitative research, to reach an in-depth understanding of the interaction between the built environment and human behaviour, and to define urban environments that foster wellbeing and sustainable choices and actions.

I am committed to policy impact, working with a wide range of communities, government bodies, and international organisations in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. My early research was focused on urban policy decision-making and its impact on local self-employment, poverty alleviation and access to city opportunities.

Publications

Journal articles

Grants

I have received several grant and awards, including four innovation grants to embed urban research methods into software development – three from the Chilean Economic Development Agency and one from LSE Generate – two highly competitive research grants (four prizes awarded from over 300 applications) from CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Seal of Excellence, the LSE PhD Studentship, the President of Chile Graduate Scholarship, and was also offered the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, Fulbright PhD Grant and UCLA Luskin PhD Scholarship.

Teaching activities
Professional activities and memberships
  • Doctoral Research
  • Year 1 Coordinator
Funded research projects
  • 2020-22, Fondo Inicia, Universidad de Chile
  • 2020-21, Research Fellowship, Politecnico di Milano
  • 2019-20, Semilla Expande, Chilean Economic Development Agency
  • 2019-20, Huella, StartUP Chile (grant offered)
  • 2018-19, LSE Generate, London School of Economics
  • 2018-20, Seeds Fund, StartUp Chile
  • 2017, Research Grant, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America
  • 2016, Research Grant, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America
  • 2015, Doctoral Research, LSE Festival, London School of Economics                     
  • 2014, Santander-LSE Travel Grant, London School of Economics