Pia is a Human Geographer (PhD from the University of Helsinki, minors in sociology, social policy, economic geography and urban planning at TKK/Aalto) and adjunct professor in Spatial Planning. Her research interests cover especially strategic spatial planning and planning theories. During the last 20 years, her research projects and publications have addressed a wide scope of issues under the theme of urban studies and planning, e.g. neighbourhood developing projects and regional inequality in cities, spatial planning theories within democracy theories, participation practices within different administrative steering modes, integrating experiential and ecological knowledge in planning, and knowledge management policies in planning within governance practices at the city-regional level.

At the moment Pia is an Associate Professor (tenure track) at the Department of Geoscience and Geography. She is also a leader (PI) of a research project JustDe, a comparative and collaborative study between Nordic countries, funded by the Academy of Finland, 2018-2022. She has years of experience working as a principal investigator, responsible researcher and project manager in research and applied projects. She has also been in many ways active in the academic society: she is e.g. Past President of the Finnish Society of Housing and Planning, board member of the Geographical Society in Finland, and a member of the scientific organising committee of the international Spatial Planning PLANNORD conference in 2017. She has also been an opponent or a pre-examiner for several Ph.D. studies, organized international Ph.D. schools and acted as a supervisor in Ph.D. studies.

Her national and international scientific cooperation contacts based on academic project collaboration and longer research visits, are well established and multidisciplinary (see e.g. www.bemine.fi). Based on her work experience (incl. as a senior researcher at the City of Helsinki Urban Facts), she has well-developed contact networks with practitioners at all levels of public administration, including ministries and municipalities.  She has been e.g. an invited member of the expert group for Finnish National Foresight Report, coordinated by Prime Minister´s Office, Academy of Finland & SITRA.

Pia is also a director of Urban Studies and Planning Master program.