Mag. Mariana Alegre is the first Peruvian to participate in Harvard's Loeb Fellowship

PUCP Law graduate and professor in the Department of Management Sciences, Mag. Mariana Alegre, has become the first Peruvian to participate in The Loeb Fellowship, an academic development programme of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This programme aims to be a meeting place, and to create links between people with the potential to make positive changes and revitalise their communities.

Alegre, who also holds a Master's degree in Human Rights from the PUCP, has developed a professional and academic career focused on citizen transformation based on urban rights. His work has also allowed him to have an impact on public policy management at national and international level. So, the opportunity to be a Loeb Fellow 2023 is a next step to continue expanding his vision and work in city building.

Urban rights

Although Mariana Alegre is a law graduate, she defines herself as an "urban planner with a focus on urban rights". This is reflected in her trajectory in organisations such as 'Lima cómo vamos' and 'Ocupa tu calle', of which she is the founder. However, her vision of building dignified and sustainable cities was developed during her years as an undergraduate student.

"When I was a student, I was interested in international humanitarian law, human rights and labour law. Then, thanks to the PUCP, I was able to take part in an exchange programme at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, where I had a positive experience of the city. I came back very enthusiastic about improving urban conditions in Lima," says Mariana. In this way, she continued her studies with a renewed interest in urban planning.

However, it was during the Masters in Human Rights at the PUCP that Alegre was able to consolidate his interest in an academic approach. "I was able to meet Professor Pablo Vega Centeno, who was like a mentor to me. Thanks to him, and to professors like Juan Carlos Dextre, I became interested in issues such as mobility and transport. I wanted to focus on human rights in the city and urban planning," he recalls. Alegre subsequently also went on to earn a master's degree in City Design and Social Sciences from the London School of Economics.

Her professional experience led her to address issues such as transparency and local government management, as well as to be the general coordinator of the 'Lima cómo vamos' project and founder of the 'Occupy your street' public space implementation strategy in 2014. "With the experience of 'Lima cómo vamos', we managed to bring the urban debate to the public agenda and that allowed us to work on and consolidate issues such as sustainable mobility and public spaces. We managed to have an impact on the city's urban policies and motivate citizens to participate and organise themselves," says Alegre.

On the other hand, he also highlights the work carried out by 'Occupy your street': "With the idea of creating more and better public spaces, urban interventions and physical changes in the cities were achieved. More than 50 public spaces were created inside and outside the country". Initiatives such as the International Festival of Urban Interventions were also developed, with the participation of the PUCP's Architecture and City Research Centre (CIAC) and the Academic Direction of Social Responsibility (DARS), units that make up the organisers' committee.

First Peruvian Loeb Fellow

Mariana Alegre sets a precedent by being a Loeb Fellow 2023, as she is the first Peruvian to be part of this programme. "I want to make city development issues visible beyond the Latin American experience and connect with people who are working on similar topics. I'm looking to approach it from an urban design perspective," she says.

"The big step for me was to be able to move from human rights to urban rights. The law degree gave me an advantage on how to understand and manage public policies from a perspective in which the citizen is the subject of law, the protagonist," explains Alegre regarding his career and the opportunity to continue his academic development as a Loeb Fellow.

Finally, Mariana mentions that this is one more step to continue with her vision of achieving a better urban community. "Lima will always be my base and my mission is to enable students or people interested in urban issues to have the connections, information and tools to make a real impact on the improvement of the territory. I want to promote the new urban generation that recognises that it is possible to have, as citizens, more opportunities from what the city can offer us and improve our coexistence," he adds.

We wish great success to our graduate Mariana Alegre, who will soon be moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to begin this important academic stage.