Sergio Serra is an architect, PhD in Civil Engineering and Architecture and Assistant Professor RTD-B (tenure track position) in Urban and Regional Planning (SSD ICAR/20) at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari.
After graduating in Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Cagliari (2011), he has been involved in research and teaching activities in the disciplinary field of urban planning at the Faculty of Architecture of Cagliari, in the positions of contract researcher and research fellow. In 2017 he achieved his PhD in Civil Engineering and Architecture with a thesis entitled "Urban planning in evolution. Development rights market, territorial governance and land use", in the scientific fields ICAR/20 and ICAR/22. The topic was further explored in a three-year research fellowship (2017-2020) "Methods and tools for the application of soft regulation measures and market-oriented approaches in the adaptation of general and detailed urban planning instruments to the Regional Landscape Plan", SSD ICAR/20.
From 2020 to 2023 he holds the research fellowship "Public assets and common goods in urban redevelopment and regeneration processes. Definition of guidelines for urban regeneration and strategic enhancement of regional contexts of excellence", SSD ICAR/20.
In 2022, he has achieved the National Scientific Qualification for the positions of second rank professor for the sector 08/F1 Urban Planning and Design.
His main research interests concern the governance of urban transformation and the approaches and methods of land value capture, with a focus on compensation techniques and mechanisms for the transfer of development rights in the direction of urban regeneration and land take control. Another important field of research is the protection and valorisation of the historic heritage and landscape, with a focus on planning for the recovery and redevelopment of historic centres. 
He has been involved in the activities of multidisciplinary research groups in several research projects of regional, national and international relevance, including PRIN 2022 - RE-PLACE. Reframing PLace-based Approach through the Cultural Ecosystem Services of inner areas; PRIN PNRR 2022 - Bioregional planning tools to co-design life places. Empowering local communities to manage and protect natural resources; research project funded by Fondazione Banco di Sardegna - The Regional Cultural Heritage. Design and Organisation of the Cultural District of Southern Sardinia; Research Project Sardinia Region L.R. 7/2007 - Cagliari. Methods and models for the integrated enhancement of the heritage of historical settlements. Guidelines for the application of the Unesco Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape; Research Project Sardinia Region L.R. 7/2007 - "Socioeconomic evaluation of the impact of the military presence in Sardinia: an integrated approach of economic, social, environmental and territorial analysis".He has been involved in several professional experiences within the third mission activities of DICAAR aimed at the elaboration of urban planning tools, in compliance with the Regional Landscape Plan, at the municipal level (Municipal Urban Plans of Villacidro, Bari Sardo, Dolianova and Castiadas) and site level (Integrated Intervention Program for the peripheries of the Municipality of Villacidro; Detailed Plans for the recovery of the historic centers of Mogoro, Dorgali, Villasor; Coastal Use Plan of Bari Sardo).