Agustin Cocola Gant

I am employed as an Auxiliar Researcher (FCT CEEC) at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon. Before moving to Lisbon I was Marie Curie Fellow at the School of Geography, University of Leeds. I hold a PhD in Human Geography (Cardiff University) and a PhD in Art History (University of Barcelona). My research lies at the intersection of urban and tourism studies. I am an established expert on short-term rentals, tourism-led gentrification and how digital platforms such as Airbnb are restructuring local housing markets. My work has been published in leading international journals such as Urban Studies, Environment and Planning A, Population, Space and Place, Cities, Geoforum and Tourism Management Perspectives, among others; In terms of funding and leadership, I have demonstrated an outstanding ability to obtain competitive research grants as Principal Investigator and Lead Partner. In the past 4 years I received 650,000 euros in research funding from both the European Commission Horizon 2020 program and the FCT. At the University of Lisbon I have led two projects, coordinating a team of 12 colleagues, including the supervision of three post-doctoral researchers. Currently, I supervise 8 PhD students on the fields of tourism mobilities, short-term rentals, and urban change. My aim is to implement policy-oriented research and I have obtained significant impact with non-academic sectors, including policy makers and the media.