Olivia Bina is a Principal Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS).
She has a long-standing interest in understanding our changing relationship with nature and how this relates to the many challenges the 21st century faces, particularly in our cities. She explores the factors that drive the (un)sustainability of our socioeconomic and sociotechnical models and their effect on life—human and more-than-human—working through the lens of ecological economics, sustainable futures, systems theory, and transition/transformation theories. Her recent projects explore nature-based (urban) transformations, nature-based solutions (NbS), the reimagination of urban futures, and the key challenges that climate impacts pose for historical and dense areas. She continues her research on the importance of plurality in our forms of knowledge and explores the potential of non-human perspectives (particularly plant life), including through changing the role of botanical gardens as places that can shape the future. Olivia seeks to bring an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to all her work, with full awareness of the many challenges and obstacles that this entails. She holds a degree in Political Science (Università degli Studi di Milano), a Master in Environment and Development, and a PhD in Geography (both from the University of Cambridge), and recently completed a Master in Landscape Architecture (Università di Cagliari).