Profile#
I’m a geospatial data analyst and urban planner. I work at WRI Brasil’s Cities Program on urban adaptation and climate resilience: spatial analysis, index-building, and translating data into evidence that can inform planning decisions.
I hold an MSc and a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from UFRGS, in Porto Alegre. In 2023, I spent a few months at the University of Lisbon as a visiting doctoral researcher, where, along the way, I began programming with Python.
I grew up in Santa Cruz do Sul, a medium-sized city in the heart of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and studied Architecture and Urbanism there. That is where I became curious about how cities work. Eventually, I ended up spending more time with spatial datasets than with drawing boards.
I live in a cozy apartment in Porto Alegre, a 5-minute walk from Lake Guaíba, where I enjoy long walks and the sunset, and a 2-hour drive from the Atlantic coast, where my family and I love spending weekends.
Skills#
Spatial analysis. Land-use and land-cover change, multicriteria suitability models, composite indices, typologies, flow and network mapping, functional urban areas.
Data and programming. Python (Jupyter), SQL, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, QGIS, Excel; open data pipelines with MapBiomas, IBGE censuses, RAIS/CAGED, OpenStreetMap and Google Open Buildings.
Research and communication. Mixed methods (spatial data, documents and interviews), thematic cartography and data visualization, technical reports for governments, peer-reviewed writing in Portuguese and English.
Selected publications#
- Faccin, C. R.; Souza, J. L.; Dalcin, G. K. (2026). Patterns of urban transformation and land use and land cover on the North Coast: Osório, Tramandaí and Imbé. Para Onde!? (PT)
- Faccin, C. R. (2025). Urbanization, socio-spatial fragmentation and repercussions on the landscape of the medium-sized city of Santa Cruz do Sul. PhD thesis, UFRGS. (PT)
- Faccin, C. R.; Almeida, N. B. L.; Campos, H. Á. (2024). Urban morphology and typology of gated communities in the Porto Alegre metropolis. Pós FAUUSP. (PT)
- Faccin, C. R. et al. (2022). One year of pandemic: Covid-19 evolution and territorial dispersion in the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region. urbe. Revista Brasileira de Gestão Urbana. (PT)
- Faccin, C. R. (2020). Territorial division of labor and urban network: the tobacco and chicken meat production chains in the Vales region, RS. Master’s dissertation, UFRGS. (PT)
More than thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on urban planning, regional development, climate change and geospatial analysis. See all on ResearchGate →
Education#
PhD in Urban and Regional Planning 2021–2025 UFRGS — Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Visiting doctoral researcher in Geography 2023–2024 Universidade de Lisboa — Lisbon, Portugal
MSc in Urban and Regional Planning 2019–2020 UFRGS — Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
BSc in Architecture and Urbanism 2013–2018 UNISC — Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil