Professor and researcher at the University of Brasília, Maria Fernanda Derntl leads the Capital e Periferia (Capital City and Periphery) research project, supported by CNPq (the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). Since her PhD at the University of São Paulo, her scholarship has focused on official policies and social experiences related to processes of city and territory-making.
Her research on Brasília seeks to move beyond standard approaches that focus on the Pilot Plan and its iconic modernist architecture. Instead, it explores the history and social representations of areas on the outskirts of the Federal District, where the majority of the population—particularly the poorest segment—resides. This work earned her the 10th Milton Santos Article Prize from the National Association of Post-Graduation and Research in Urban and Regional Planning (ANPUR). Her research was featured in the 2022 article “More than Just a City of Monuments” at Pesquisa Fapesp, Brazil’s leading scientific dissemination platform. In 2023, she received a Distinguished Researcher Award from the Federal District Research Foundation (FAP-DF).