Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Area
Urban planner and researcher specialized in nature-based solutions & locally-led adaptation for integrated urban water management, food security, environmental risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Research on innovatively mixing methods for mapping (remote sensing and PPGIS) and assessing spatial distributions of environmental risk, composite vulnerabilities and nature-based solutions in secondary cities with data accessibility and availability constraints.
PhD research on the distribution of nature-based solutions (NBS) and climate vulnerability in cities in the Global South. I am researching how nature-based solutions for climate-change adaptation affect, reinforce or respond to socio-spatial inequalities in cities in the Global South. This research project will develop a mixed method approach combining qualitative and quantitative modes of data collection and analysis to conduct remote as well as participatory field research on the distribution of interventions and to assess local vulnerabilities. Through a number of case studies in the Global South, I intend to explore how the distribution of NBS interventions can be more equitable by co-locating them with actual patterns of vulnerability. This PhD project will experiment with alternative methods to collect relevant geodata and local knowledge that is otherwise missing or neglected, and create an accessible method that researchers and practitioners can use to assess the relationships between the distribution of current and planned NBS interventions and the distribution of socio-environmental vulnerabilities in urban data-poor environments. Teaching activities include compiling materials and questions, giving lectures, preparing in-class assignments and activities, and evaluating coursework for a module on practical examples of ecosystem-based flood risk management in cities in the Global South for the DAAD course ‘Urban Solutions’ (Nov2021, Jun2022); the International Short Course ‘Urban Nature-Based Solutions’ of the Technical University of Dresden (Aug2022); the graduate courses "Sustainability and Resilience in Planning" and "Planning Theory, Values and Ethics" for the Master of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) and and Indigenous Community Planning (ICP) programmes at SCARP (Sep2023-Apr2024, Sep-Dec2025)
Insights Development Grant Project "Enhancing Climate Risk Perception Assessment in Precarious Housing: A Participatory Mapping Approach" Systematic review and testing of participatory mapping methodologies to assess the environmental risk- scapes of perceived local risks for individuals experiencing varying degrees of housing vulnerabilities in two metropolitan areas in the Pacific Northwest. Phase 1: assessing data gaps and reviewing geospatial sources to operationalize spatial indicators, identify feasible methods, and exploring data collection methods, including online participatory mapping surveys, mobile apps and community-led surveys. Phase 2: Evaluating software and tools for participatory mapping, including PartiMap, ATO Survey Tool, Survey123 with ArcGIS, and Maptitude, to determine the most effective methods for capturing community perspectives on climate risks. Phase 3 involves mapping perceived local risks for individuals facing housing vulnerability in two metropolitan areas, one in Canada and one in the United States.
During my time at PlanAdapt I contributed to the writing of project proposals, and compiling case studies and writing reflection pieces on the experiences of urban ecosystem based adaptation in the Global South. I conducted research on various topics related to the use of nature based solutions urban planning in different contexts in the Global South with a focus on the climate vulnerability of marginalised communities. I compiled reports, blogs and other knowledge sharing and learning materials during the course of my work at PlanAdapt. I started out as a research intern at PlanAdapt and continued working with them as a fellow of the Climate Co-Adaptation Lab. Main projects: - Resilient Governance Regimes that Support Urban Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Cities: Learning from Local Challenges (co-wrote journal article published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems) - Ecosystem-based flood risk management in Sub-Saharan cities (with CDKN) - Socially Just and Adaptive Community Spaces in Poor Urban Settlements in India and Colombia - Urban ecosystem-based adaptation working group (in collaboration with NATURA learning network)
Field research on nature-based solutions and environmental challenges in the rapidly urbanising Santa Rosa-Silang Watershed. Collaborating with local professor and supervising 2 graduate research assistants. Teaching activities include guest lectures and workshops.
Study to improve the implementation and adaptive management of green infrastructure in the City of Vancouver, with a focus on the quantification of co-benefits . Best practices research, subject matter expert interviews, and case studies from other jurisdictions that currently use green infrastructure to advance climate adaptation objectives in the areas of urban heat reduction, biodiversity enhancement, and rainwater management.
As a painter and graphic designer, my assignments included creating the covers of PhD dissertations in multiple disciplines, small murals, event posters and birth announcement cards in addition to a number of commissioned paintings. To date, I have exhibited my artworks at the following exhibitions: -NATURALEZA Y MAGIA, two exhibitions during a jazz festival in the botanical gardens in Nijar, Spain. -KUNSTGRILLEN art expo hosted by BarVizArt in Antwerp, Belgium. -NATURE & MYTHOLOGY at the 2022 Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival at the Roundhouse in Vancouver, Canada. -WATER'S WISDOM: A lantern installation at the 2023 Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival in Vancouver, Canada. -TIDES OF HARMONY: Exhibition of miniature artworks at Slice of Life in March 2024, Vancouver, Canada. -THE LIFTOFF: A lantern installation at the 2024 Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival in Vancouver, Canada. -SUNDOG/MOONDOG/TARDIGRADE/THUNDERBIRD: An experimental interactive art installation at the January 2024 Slice of Life art exhibition in Vancouver, Canada.