Marina Alberti

Professor

Marina Alberti is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning in the Department of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington. She directs the Urban Ecology Research Laboratory and led the International Research Network on Urban Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics. She teaches courses in Urban Science, Urban Ecology, Environmental Planning, Research Design, Geographic Information Systems, and Group Dynamic and Conflict resolution. Alberti’s research interests are in urban ecology. She studies cities as hybrid ecosystems. Her research focuses on the interactions between urban development patterns and ecosystem function, urban eco-evolutionary dynamics, and the properties of urbanizing regions that enhance their resilience and socio-ecological innovation. She leads research on urban ecological modeling, scenario planning, and strategic foresight. Her work involves the development of metrics and indicators of socio-ecological performance that can be used to monitor progress and inform policy-making and planning. In her forthcoming book (UW Press 2016) entitled “Cities That Think Like Planets,” Alberti advances a science of cities that work on a planetary scale and link unpredictable dynamics to the potential for socio-ecological innovation.