Raquel is a PhD candidate, researcher and independent consultant, holding a M.A. in Urban Development and a B.A. in Architecture and Urban Planning. Working mainly in Latin American contexts, she has experience with land policies and land tools, land regularization and slum upgrading, as well as advocacy and capacity development, particularly related to the right to the city. Her PhD research is on knowledge production from the Global South and the relation with land policies, systems and practices, focusing on emerging alternatives for the (de)colonization of planning theory.

Currently, she manages the open and collaborative knowledge platform SueloUrbano.org, which is the Latin American and Caribbean virtual gateway of two initiatives of Habitat for Humanity International: the Solid Ground campaign, a global advocacy campaign to improve access to land for shelter; and the Land Tools Urban CSO Cluster, part of the Global Land Tools Network – GLTN / ONU-HABITAT. Raquel has also worked in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects supported by UK-AID / DFID, the British Council, Open Society Foundation and the Brazilian Federal Land Administration.