Melissa Moralli, PhD, is a cultural sociologist at the Department of Sociology and Business Law, University of Bologna and visiting scholar at IPK (Institute for Public Knowledge, New York University) and CRISES (Centre de Recherche sur les Innovations Sociales, Université du Québec à Montréal). Her Ph.D. research consisted of a theoretical study on the concept of social innovation and its influences on local development dynamics. Her research interests are human mobility (tourism and migration), social innovation, urban change and public sociology. She is researcher for the European project “Atlas of Transitions – New Geographies for a Cross-Cultural Europe” (http://www.atlasoftransitions.eu/) and collaborates in different academic and community projects dealing with community engagement, transdisciplinary methodologies and action-research.