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Emanuele Cinti

I’m a master’s student in Economics and Social Sciences at Bocconi, with a passion for understanding how societies change and why. If I had to choose one word to describe myself, it would be curious. I already have professional experience in research and data analysis, which I genuinely enjoy, but I’m equally passionate about debating ideas, reading widely, and challenging myself through endurance sports. These habits shape how I think: patient, analytical, and always trying to see the bigger picture.

I hope this project will enable me to turn my curiosity into something concrete. I’m excited to delve into long-term urban and social dynamics, learn new tools, and collaborate with a team that views inequality not just as a statistic, but as a story unfolding across decades and cities.

My contribution will come from a mix of technical skills and curiosity. I enjoy working with complex datasets, cleaning and harmonising them, and exploring their structure. What motivates me is the idea that careful empirical analysis can uncover patterns that are not immediately obvious. I hope to contribute by approaching each task with attention and genuine interest, supporting the team while also learning how to interpret and contextualise the evidence we generate.

Francesca Zangani

I am a Master’s student in International Relations and European Studies, with experience in social research and survey design, and a strong interest in social change and the dynamics that shape it. I consider myself a motivated and reliable individual, with a strong inclination towards analysis and a critical approach to contemporary social phenomena.
Through this project, I aim to strengthen my skills in data analysis and deepen my understanding of the methods used to study urban segregation.
I believe I can make a valuable contribution by connecting empirical data with the social context and its dynamics, offering a perspective attentive to the relationships between territory, institutions, and citizens.

Background 

Urban research — spanning disciplines such as sociology, criminology, epidemiology, and economics — has long demonstrated how the places where people live shape their life choices and opportunities. Building on Blau’s theoretical model (1960) and the empirical work of Sampson (2012), this framework posits that population structure, as well as territorial opportunities and constraints, significantly influence life courses, crime rates, employment prospects, civic participation, and public health outcomes. When social structures become unbalanced, they can lead to residential segregation, with particularly detrimental effects on less advantaged social groups. 

In the European context, long shaped by the welfare state, rising residential segregation is now increasingly evident in major metropolitan areas. Yet, contemporary studies of social structure need to expand their focus beyond urban cores to encompass wider metropolitan regions, where evolving economic opportunities and structural constraints redefine the social and spatial fabric. Additionally, there is a growing need to approach the study of social structure from a diachronic perspective — examining how social and spatial inequalities evolve over time. 

The DIAMETROIT Project, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)  under the FIS scheme, addresses these challenges through a three-year research initiative dedicated to the diachronic analysis of social structures in Italian metropolitan areas, aiming to develop a comparative framework and an open-access database for urban studies.

Aims of the Call 

In the context of the kick-off meeting, we invite scholars from diverse disciplines and of career phases to contribute empirical, methodological, theoretically driven papers addressing the following topics: 

•  Analysing social structure at the urban grid level; 

•  Conducting diachronic analyses of social structures; 

•  Identifying innovative dimensions of analysis in urban segregation; 

•  Promoting interdisciplinarity in the study of urban segregation; 

•  Comparing evidence from different methods of analysing urban segregation. 

The main area of research will be European cities, but the call is also open to other contexts.  

Submission Guidelines 

Abstracts should be approximately 500 words, written in English (references not included in the word count). Organizers will value the possibility of organizing a special issue in a scientific journal on the topics suggested in the call. Participants will have the chance to interact with experts of the Advisory Boards of the projects. Abstracts should be sent by November 30th to diametroit@gmail.com 

Important dates  

Abstract submission: deadline 30 November 2025. Authors are invited to submit an abstract (approx.  500 words) by this date. 

Notification of  acceptance: 5 December 2025. Authors will be informed whether their contribution has been accepted or declined. 

Confirmation of participation: 15 December 2025.  Accepted authors must confirm their participation in the kick-off meeting. 

Event Information 

Selected contributors will be invited to participate free of charge in the Kick-off Meeting, to be held on January 15, 2026, at the University of Genoa, Albergo dei Poveri. Lunch and coffee breaks will be provided. 

Contact 

For abstract submission and further information, please contact: diametroit@gmail.com 

Organising Committee  

Lorenzo Barbanera, Igor Costarelli, Niccolò Morelli.  

Lorenzo Barbanera

I am a sociologist with a PhD in Social Science Methodology from the University of “La Sapienza” in Rome. I have been passionate about methodology since my student years, which I see as a master key that allows me to explore diverse research topics while keeping a coherent perspective on social processes. This approach gives me the freedom to move across disciplines and topics, connecting them through underlying patterns. My research has spanned the sociology of time, electoral sociology, university evaluation, and the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In all these areas, my focus is on understanding the social processes and the mechanisms, both explicit and latent, that shape outcomes.

I strongly believe that academic research should have a tangible social impact. For this reason, I am confident that the results of this project can offer valuable insights for policymakers, helping them design actions to improve life in densely populated areas, especially by promoting greater social equality. At the same time, the DIAMETROIT project represents an opportunity for me to deepen my knowledge of urban sociology and to engage with new methods of analysis, while further developing my skills in the use of statistical software. Moreover, DIAMETROIT is fostering the creation of an international network of scholars, and being part of it will undoubtedly be an important source of both personal and professional enrichment.

I hope to contribute to the project by bringing my ability to bridge research theory and practice, a skill that is particularly valuable for an ambitious initiative like DIAMETROIT. I am especially interested in integrating the perspective of the sociology of time, exploring how temporality shapes urban segregation and mobility patterns. Topics such as allochronism between social groups, day/night rhythms, daily routines, and seasonal or long-term changes in urban structures offer rich opportunities for insight. Through this approach, I aim to provide a contribution that complements and supports the broader objectives of the project.

Igor Sebastian Costarelli

I am an environmental and urban sociologist with a PhD in Urban Studies jointly awarded by the University of Milano-Bicocca and TU Delft. For several years, I have been engaged in research on urban transformations, focusing on issues such as housing for younger generations, urban segregation, social mix and housing policies, innovative models of urban living, quality of life and urban sustainability. Within these research areas, I have developed both qualitative and quantitative methodological skills and have collaborated on interdisciplinary projects involving research and policy outreach with various European institutions. My curious and dynamic spirit keeps pace with the rapid transformations of major Italian and European cities.

This project embraces an ambitious challenge to advance our understanding of urban segregation in Italian major cities. I am motivated by the opportunity to contribute to an initiative that combines cross-cutting expertise and multidisciplinary perspectives, creating fertile ground for collaboration and the exchange of innovative ideas. I see this context as a stimulating opportunity for team building and open dialogue that can generate new knowledge and enrich not only my research trajectory but also our shared understanding of contemporary urban transformations.

My contribution to the project will be both theoretical and methodological. On the theoretical side, I bring in-depth knowledge developed over the years in the fields of housing policy and urban segregation. Methodologically, I contribute with expertise in spatial analysis and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). From a collaborative standpoint, my active role as a working group coordinator within the European Network for Housing Research represents an added value, fostering research exchange, interdisciplinary dialogue, and networking opportunities. Moreover, the relationships I have built with local and European institutions may provide valuable channels for the dissemination and outreach of the project’s scientific results.