New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities

A student of environmental studies and environmental economic geography, I study human-nature relationships and am particularly interested in sustainable resource use, the urban-nature interface, and the urban metabolism. Although my research has historically focused on the nexus between food, economy, and the environment, I am currently exploring the broad question: what is the place of biophysical nature in the city and how might we rethink cities as sustainable socio-ecological systems? Particularly, I am interested in exploring the questions:

• Given that cities are intrinsically tied to and inherently dependent upon natural systems and natural resources, what is ‘nature’ and what is the ‘urban’?

• How can cities and their residents reintegrate into their bioregional environments?

• How can cities themselves be planned with nature’s organizing principles in mind?

• How do projects seeking to integrate biophysical nature into the ‘urban’ perform and how are they performed?

I am originally from the USA, where I completed my B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource Economics at Oregon State University in 2007. I came to New Zealand as a Fulbright Scholar in 2008 in order to study environmental management and sustainability in New Zealand and to finish my Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Management at University of Auckland. I currently live, work, and play in Auckland and am actively involved in a variety of campus and community sustainability initiatives in the Auckland region.