Luma Fonseca Alves
Doctoral Researcher
Sustainable Urban Planning; Water Sensitive Urban Design; urban Nature based Solutions; 3D Public Participation GIS; Geodesign; Digital Twins
I am a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Turku and under the Digital Waters flagship, focusing on using the potential of Digital Participatory Tools to co-design urban Nature based Solutions.
I obtained an Erasmus Mundus Joint master degree in Applied Ecohydrology in 2024, where I studied in 4 European Universities (University of Algarve in Portugal, University of Lodz in Poland, Technische Hochschule Lübeck, Germany and University of Antwerp, Belgium). My master thesis consisted in developing a Spatial Diagnosis Tool to support Water Sensitive Urban Design.
I hold a bachelor in Civil Engineering, which was concluded at the Federal University of Campina Grande in Brazil in 2021. During my bachelor I worked as a Research assistant for the Research network "The environmental dimension of slum upgrading" where I modeled the implementation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in a dense urban catchment, simulating scenarios to improve water security, flooding resilience and socio-ecological robustness in precarious settlements. I communicated the research’s results of this project in national and international congresses, authored a Journal paper and co-authored a book chapter.
In 2022 I worked as a Junior Engineer for the Brazilian National Health Foundation (FUNASA), to elaborate together with other engineers and sociologists, the participative water and sanitation plans of 50 municipalities in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. For this, I performed field surveys in the municipalities to diagnose their water and sanitation services and organized and conducted public hearings involving the community and local authorities.
- HereSay: Gamifying Urban Crowdsourcing Through Affordance-Based Data Collection (2026) GamiFIN '26 : Proceedings of the 10th Annual International GamiFIN Conference 2026 Baer, Manuel F.; Fonseca Alves, Luma; Laato, Samuli
(A4 Vertaisarvioitu artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa) - Playful, Meaningful - or Both? A Review of the Current State of Digital Participatory Urban Planning Platforms (2026) GamiFIN '26 : Proceedings of the 10th Annual International GamiFIN Conference 2026 Fonseca Alves, Luma; Baer, Manuel F.; Laato, Samuli; Klonner, Carolin; Fagerholm, Nora
(A4 Vertaisarvioitu artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa) - Envisioning nature-integrated urban spaces: Community and practitioners´ workshops outcomes in Jyrkkälä and Halinen neighborhoods (2025) Fonseca Alves, Luma; Stevens, Ulrika; Fagerholm, Nora; Eilola, Salla; Klonner, Carolin; Wingström, Roosa.
(D4 Julkaistu kehittämis- tai tutkimusraportti tai -selvitys ) - Modelling and assessment of sustainable urban drainage systems in dense precarious settlements subject to flash floods (2022)
- LHB: hydroscience journal
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )