Paolo Ruffino

Senior Consultant

Since 2016 I have been part of the Decisio team, currently responsible for the development of the international and the Italian market. I define myself as a strategic territorial planner with great interest and passion for the themes of cycling, sustainable mobility, urban and regional development, which I tackle with a holistic approach. Although I began my university career as a “humanist” and social scientist, I have gradually become more and more “technical”, specializing in transport economics, spatial planning and geographic information systems. A background mix that makes me sensitive to socio-political issues and aware of technical challenges and needs. Before joining Decisio, I worked for the Amsterdam Transport Authority where I followed the development plan and cost-benefit assessment of “cycle-highways” in the Amsterdam metropolitan area. Besides my professional career, I recently started working on technical-scientific dissemination through my regular contribution to peer-review academic publications, participating as a lecturer in cycling at European universities such as (the University of Amsterdam) and organizing study visits for policy-makers, students and professionals.

And besides work?

I live a “double life” between Italy and the Netherlands. After my master’s degree at the University of Utrecht, I moved to Amsterdam to continue my studies and start my career at Decisio. With the development of the Italian market, I started a fascinating commuting life between Amsterdam and my city, Turin. At the beginning, I found this situation a bit frustrating for the numerous trips, however then I started to appreciate the positive aspects: the possibility to disconnect from the routine, meet new faces and develop friendship ties. Something that always makes me active and fresh. In my free time, there are three things I like to do. Cooking, every day I try to prepare a new meal with as fresh and local products as possible. Reading and learning, if I could, I’d never finish studying and continue to take further degrees. At the moment I am very fascinated by the themes of astronomy and quantum physics, of which I find myself reading a lot of treatises. Travelling. Despite my “unusual commuting”, I love to take my bike on weekends and cycle to new destinations. Who knows what I’ll be sculpting next weekend? Do you have any suggestions? Let me know.

Projects that impressed you?

Every project is a story in itself, and I learnt something from all of them that contributed to my professional and personal growth. If I had to say which one I am most proud of, I would surely say the Cycling Mobility Plan (Bicipolitana) of Collegno, the Cycling Mobility Plan of the Piedmont Region and the Avigliana Lakes Corridor, projects that not only contribute to solve “a problem” but I see them as my contribution to improve the situation in the places closest to me. There are also other projects that have been innovative in their own way such as the Vimercate Sustainable Mobility Plan, the European Handshake project that brings together the best cities in the field of cycling and some transatlantic cycling projects that I conducted with the FHWA.

Paolo Ruffino

Associate senior consultant

+39 392 54 34 058
p.ruffino@decisio.nl
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