MESOPOLHIS is delighted to welcome Giulia Panepinto from 20 May to 17 June 2026.
Giulia Panepinto is a PhD student in Sociology, Organisations and Cultures (39th cycle) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.
Her stay at MESOPOLHIS is part of a research project supported by Cesare Mattina, senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Aix-Marseille and head of Axis 4 «Socio-spatial dynamics and political mobilisation».».
🔎 Title and summary of research project :
Circular territories. Experiences of local energy production in Piedmont: between successful trajectories and interrupted journeys
This research focuses on the energy transition in post-industrial mountain regions, as observed through the processes of implementing the circular economy. Its aim is to analyse the institutional, political and territorial conditions that enable – or, conversely, hinder – the implementation of a circular transition.
More specifically, in contexts where policies are geared towards mitigating climate change, research examines the circular economy’s capacity to bring about a systemic transformation capable of reorganising production chains and socio-economic relations, rather than being reduced to a mere juxtaposition of technical interventions, thereby turning the region into a truly circular one.
In contexts that are more exposed to climate change risks, where the political agenda channels the bulk of resources into land management – thereby, almost unconsciously, implementing climate adaptation measures – attention is instead focused on the barriers that hinder the emergence of circular transition pathways.
Through a comparative qualitative analysis of two municipalities in Piedmont (in northern Italy), this thesis examines which contextual factors promote or, conversely, hinder the emergence of circular transition pathways.
📨 Contact : panepinto.giulia3[at]gmail.com
