Olivia Bina

Olivia Bina is Senior Researcher (Investigador Principal) at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal), and Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS). She holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture (2023) from Università di Cagliari, a PhD in Geography (2004) and a Master of Philosophy in Environment and Development (1993) from the University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, and a Degree/Laurea in Political Sciences (International Law) (1991) from Università degli Studi di Milano.

Olivia sees herself as an interdisciplinary ‘policy-engaged’ researcher, with a longstanding interest in understanding our changing relationship with nature, and how that relates to the many challenges facing the 21st century, and our cities in particular. She explores the drivers of (un)sustainability of our socio-economic and socio-technical models and their effect on life – human and more-than human, working through the lens of ecological economics, sustainable futures, systems change and transition/transformation theories. Her overall focus is on worldviews and pathways that can balance our dependence on ‘ever smarter’ growth and technology with a recovery of the unlimited potential of prosperous human-nature connectedness.

More recent projects explore urban futures, nature-based (urban) transformations, nature-based solutions, and the major challenges that climate’s impacts present to urban historical centres and dense areas. She is interested in questioning how we can re-imagine urban form and heritage sites in relation to urban heat islands and inundations. She is also exploring the role and potential of botanical gardens as heritage and future-shaping sites. Her recent EU funded projects explore urban futures, nature-based (urban) transformations, nature-based solutions, and the future of knowledge and of universities. Underlying these inquiries is her ‘permanent inquiry’ into the tension between growth and sustainability.

She seeks to bring an inter and trans-disciplinary approach to all her work, with full knowledge of the many challenges and obstacles that this entails, having Chaired a network of over 70 experts representing 32 countries (COST Action) on interdisciplinarity in urban research: INTREPID 2015-2019 (http://intrepid-cost.ics.ulisboa.pt/).

The general idea is to assist in efforts towards progress, beyond traditional notions of economic growth, towards a better future (focus on urban) for all life on our Planet. She loves trees, catching an early moon-rise, gardening and creating something beautiful from a lump of clay.