I obtained a PhD in Urban Studies & Planning (MIT) before returning to Europe in 2011 with a Marie Curie fellowship. Situated at the intersection of urban planning and policy, social inequality and development studies, my research examines the extent to which urban plans, policies, and socio-environmental interventions contribute to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities. I also study how community groups in distressed neighborhoods contest the existence or exacerbation of environmental inequities as a result of urban (re)development processes. Based at UAB-ICTA where I lead the research line on Cities & Environmental Justice, I am also an affiliated researcher at IMIM where she directs the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice & Sustainability (BCNUEJ). Much of my work takes place in marginalized urban neighborhoods who are resisting displacement development in Europe, the Americas, S Africa & SE Asia.

Research interests

I am a critical social scientist trained in urban studies & planning (PhD, MIT, 2011), nonprofit management (Harvard University, 2004), international development (University de Paris-1 Sorbonne, 2001), and political studies (Science Po, 2000). 

As part of collaborative and individual international research projects, I study how environmental injustices materialize and get contested. Currently, I focus on four main research areas: 1) The politics of the green city as a growing global planning orthodoxy; 2) The social and racial manifestations and impacts of green gentrification for historically marginalized residents 3) Urban planning for health and wellbeing, with a focus on health equity and justice 4) Justice and inclusivity in climate adaptation planning, including distributional and procedural insecurities produced by adaptation plans, interventions, and land use configurations and regulations.