Sofia Villanueva
Senior Designer / Planner

A native of Uruguay, Villanueva grew up in what has been called an idyllic model of sustainable living. A tight knit country filled with walkable, waterfront towns, where walkability, preservation, and sustainable use of natural resources are reducing societal footprint. Growing up in Montevideo, Sofia was exposed early to the benefits of good, resilient urban design. Villanueva studied architecture in Uruguay and later moved to The United States. She obtained her BA in Organizational Communication from the University of Central Florida while working at an Urban Design firm. She later moved to Miami to pursue her Master’s in Architecture at the University of Miami.

Sofia has been a part of Plusurbia since the firm’s founding.

Before working at Plusurbia, Sofia collaborated with other renowned urban design firms in the U.S. and abroad. She also spent some time working in the non-profit sector in Argentina and Paraguay, where she worked on projects designed to improve living conditions in low-income areas. She also worked on urban research projects in Cape Town, South Africa, and Asuncion, Paraguay, documenting and seeking solutions for towns to prepare for sea level rise while improving living conditions.

I believe that having access to live in a walkable community where uses are close to each other and public open space is available for all should be a basic human right. Our duty as urban designers is to design the conditions for this to happen.