dr. C. Vitale (Corinne)

I am an Assistant Professor of Spatial Planning at the Nijmegen School of Management (NSM), Radboud University. My research focuses on spatial planning, flood risk management, water governance, river basin management, climate change adaptation, and upstream-downstream power dynamics. My recent interest in power dynamics arises from the recognition that understanding how power is distributed can help untangle the complexities of upstream-downstream interactions, which go beyond the mere geographical positioning of actors within a river basin.

In recent years, my work has explored how spatial planning decisions can contribute to enhancing urban flood resilience. Flood risk management is increasingly viewed not just as a technical challenge centered on hazard reduction through hard infrastructure but also as a societal transformation process shaped by governance approaches and spatial development choices. Theoretically, I adopt a discursive-institutional perspective to examine how contextual factors, actors involved in flood risk policies, and institutional settings interact, offering insights into the complexities of implementing spatial strategies in flood risk management.

I am a teacher and course coordinator in pre-master and master programs in Geography, Planning, and Environment (GPE). I supervise master's students for the completion of their thesis.