Rodrigo José Firmino is lecturer at the Postgraduate Program of Urban Management at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUCPR) in Curitiba, Brazil. He worked as Postdoctoral Fellow at University of São Paulo, Brazil, researching the co-development of urban and technological strategies for cities in developing countries. He obtained his PhD on Urban Planning from the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He also holds an MPhil in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of São Paulo, and trained as architect and planner at State University of São Paulo.