Ariadna Romans i Torrent
PhD Researcher
Environment
My name is Ariadna Romans i Torrent, and I am starting a new position as a PhD candidate at the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS). My research focuses on urban water metering technologies in Cape Town, South Africa, using this case to explore how to study the “afterlives” of technologies within sustainable transitions. I will be supervised by Dr Mendel Giezen (Urban Planning), Dr Karen Paiva Henrique (International Development), Dr Catherine Wong (Sociology), and Dr Anke Wonneberger (Communication Science).
Previously, I worked as a Junior Researcher with the Governance and Inclusive Development (GID) group and contributed to the project “Towards Post-Growth Cities: The Cultural Politics of Mobility Transitions in Barcelona and London,” led by LSE Cities and funded by the British Academy. Alongside my PhD, I write weekly for the Catalan digital magazine VIA Empresa and I am currently in the final stages of completing my first non-fiction book.
Publications
Romans, A. (February 2026). ‘A bounded existence’: examining the entanglement of scalar and intersectional experiences of water scarcity in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa. Ecology and Society.
Romans, A. (2025). Influencers of ‘no’: Who fights against climate action? (in Spanish). In Influencers and political communication: characteristics, challenges, and social impact of a new communicative ecosystem. Editorial UOC.
Romans, A. and Mandhare, S. (2025). Fanzine – Storying Climate through Mobilities. Governance and Inclusive Development, University of Amsterdam.
Romans, A. (2025). Policy vs perception: Barcelona’s culture war over urban space. In Acting out: arts & culture under pressure. Green European Journal.
Romans, A. (2024). Women and drought in rural Catalonia: a feminist perspective (in Catalan). Fundació Irla.
Romans, A. (2024). Joy in the roots: Clean water as a source of happiness (in Spanish). Revista Sarance del Instituto Otavaleño de Antropología.
Romans, A. (2022). The advocacy trap: the case of youth environmental activism in Catalonia (in Spanish). Ámbitos. Revista Internacional de Comunicación, (55), 58-72.