About
Catalina Duarte is a policy fellow with over a decade of experience spanning international organisations, national government, and academic institutions. Based at LSE Cities since 2022, she has led a diverse array of projects, and her work spans multi-country research partnerships and contributions with a focus on technology's impact on youth participation, urban democracy for emergency management, and metropolitan governance. She is currently Programme Manager of the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative and leads the NextGenC research project on youth, technology and political participation.
Catalina has contributed to Executive Education programmes, including a training programme for Shillong, India officials on the implementation of their Urban Strategy (April 2026), the Leading Transport Transitions Programme for city mayors and senior transport leaders, and the Executive Programme on Sustainable Urban & Regional Infrastructure Planning for Peruvian public officials.
Prior to LSE Cities, Catalina served as an Advisor on Regional Governance at Colombia's National Planning Department, where she designed legal and policy frameworks for inter-jurisdictional cooperation and oversaw 85 inter-municipal partnerships. She has also worked with UN-Habitat across the Andean region, Trinidad & Tobago, and Panama, and held consultancy roles across transport, heritage conservation, and urban planning in Colombia, working closely with multilateral organisations including the World Bank and GIZ.
Catalina holds an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies from the London School of Economics and a BA in Urban Management and Development from Universidad del Rosario, Colombia, where she also specialised in Urban Law. She has published widely, including peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs co-authored with UCLG and Metropolis.
Expertise
Cities and Metropolitan Areas, Urban Development, Intermunicipal Cooperation, Strategic Planning, Urban Policy, Sustainable Transport, Active Mobility