Marta Berbés-Blázquez (she/her)

Dr. Marta Berbés-Blázquez (she/her) is a transdisciplinary scholar whose work advances understanding and action at the intersection of social-ecological-technological resilience, urban futures, and environmental justice. She has published extensively on these topics and is actively involved in international initiatives shaping the field through her involvement with the Resilience Alliance, the Society for Social-Ecological Systems (SocSES), and several sustainability networks such as the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. She is also co-editor-in-chief of Ecosystems and People and serves on the editorial boards of Ecology & Society and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.

Dr. Berbés-Blázquez collaborates with municipalities and community organizations locally and internationally—particularly across the Americas—to co-create visions and pathways for just urban futures, centering the experiences and knowledge of marginalized groups. Her current projects explore the potential of nature-based solutions for climate adaptation in informal context in the Global South, as well as broader processes of urban transformation by strengthening anticipatory and foresight capacities at the grassroots level. Through her scholarship, teaching, and community partnerships, she contributes to transforming urban systems toward sustainability and justice in the face of accelerating global change.

• 2015, Doctorate, Environmental Studies, York University, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Canada

• 2008, MES, Environmental Studies, York University, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Canada

• 2001, B.Sc., Chemistry, McGill University, Canada

• ENVS 195 - Introduction to Environmental Studies
  • Taught in 2026
• ENVS 310 - Future Cities: Integrating Future Thinking into Urban Decisions
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
• PLAN 474 - Special Topics in Planning
  • Taught in 2022

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Mattson, M., Pacenza, I., Jadala, S., Romero, C., Martin, A., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Cook, E.M., Feagan, M., Borbor-Cordova, M., Cornejo-Rodriguez, P., Grimm, N.B. (2026). Rethinking nature-based solutions in informal settlements: Community perceptions of nature and environmental risk in Durán, Ecuador. Climate and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2026.2643386

• De Vos, A., Quinlan, A., Biggs, R., Bennett, E.M., Martín-López, B., Norström, A., Peterson, G., Schoon, M., Allen, C.R., Andersson, E., Baird, J., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Berkes, F., Calderón-Contreras, R., Carpenter, S.R., Castro, A.J., Cumming, G.S., Falardeau, M., Fick, W.L., Folke, C., Galang, E.I.N., Gelcich, S., Gordon, L.J., Grimm, N.B., Hamilton, J., Hodbod, J., Koch, L., Kosanic, A., Lembi, R., Locatelli, B., Malmborg, K., Manyani, A., MathisonSlee, M., Norström, A.V., Ocampo-Melgar, A., Psiuk, K., Queiroz, C., Riechers, M., Schultz, L., Selomane, O., Sherren, K., Speranza, C.I., Spierenburg, M., Trimble, M., Turkelboom, F., Wallington, C. (2025). Welcome home! Introducing SocSES: A society for inclusive and impactful social-ecological research. Ecology & Society, 30(2):32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16164-300232

• Bisht, V., Carrillo, R., Franco, M., Morales-Guerrero, J., Kuhn, A., Angeles-Wann, V., Hess, J., Mollen, P., Kennedy, L., Rosales Chavez, J.B., Cheng, C., Berbés-Blázquez, M. (2025). Enabling Barrio Innovation: A grassroots approach for centering community initiatives in just sustainability transformations. Ecology & Society (IF 4.4). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15749-300108

• Kuiper, J.J., Carpenter-Urquhart, L., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Oteros-Rozas, E., Fredström, L., Psiuk, K., Savu, C., Kautsky, R., Guerry, A.D., Carpenter, S.R., Green, C., Meacham, M., Remme, R.P., Ravera, F.I., Wankmüller, F., Arkema, K., Pereira, L.M., Peterson, G.D. (2024). Biosphere Futures: A database of social-ecological scenarios. Ecology & Society, 29(1): 19. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14795-290119

• Harmáčková, Z., Yoshida, Y., Sitas, N., Mannetti, L., Martin, A., Kumar, R., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Collins, R., Eisenack, K., Guimaraes, E., Heras, M., Nelson, V., Niamir, A., Ravera, F., Ruiz-Mallén, I., O’Farrell, P. (2023). What types of values underpin (un)sustainable and (un)just futures? The role of values in future scenarios. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 64: 101343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101343

• Cork, S., Alexandra, C., Alvarez-Romero, J., Bennett, E.M., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Bohensky, E., Bok, B., Costanza, B., Ferrier, S., Hashimoto, S., Hill, R., Inayatullah, S., Kok, K., Kuiper, J., Moglia, M., Pereira, L., Peterson, G.D., Weeks, R., Wyborn, C. (2023). Exploring alternative futures in the Anthropocene. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 48. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112321-095011

• Sauer, J., Pallathadka, A., Ajibade, I., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Chang, H., Grimm, N.B., Iwaniec, D.M., Lloyd, R., Cook, E.M., Post, G.C. (2023). Relating social, ecological, and technological vulnerability to future flood exposure at two scales in four U.S. cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104880

• Berbés-Blázquez, M., Cook, E.M., Grimm, N.B., Iwaniec, D.M., Mannetti, L.M., Muñoz-Erickson, T.A., Wahl., D. (2023). Assessing resilience, equity, and sustainability of future visions across two urban scales. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01396-z

• Loos, J., Benra, F., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Bremer, L., Chan, K., Egoh, B., Felipe-Lucia, M., Geneletti, D., Keeler, B., Locatelli, B., Loft, L., Schröter, B., Schröter, M., Winkler, K.J. (2023). An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services. AMBIO. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01812-1

• Wijsman, K., Berbés-Blázquez, M. (2022). What do we mean by justice in sustainability pathways? Commitments, dilemmas, and translations from theory to practice in nature-based solutions. Environmental Science & Policy, 136: 377-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.06.018

• McPhearson, T., E. Cook, M. Berbés-Blázquez, C. Cheng, N.B. Grimm, E. Andersson, O. Barbosa, D.G. Chandler, H. Chang, M. Chester, D. Childers, S. Elser, N. Frantzeskaki, Z. Grabowski, P. Groffman R.L. Hale, D.M. Iwaniec, N. Kabisch, C. Kennedy, S.A. Markolf, A.M. Matsler, L.E. McPhillips, T.R. Miller, T.A. Muñoz-Erickson, E. Rosi, Troxler, T.G. (2022). A social-ecological-technological systems approach to urban ecosystem services. One Earth, 5; 505-518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.007

• Berbés-Blázquez, M., Schoon, M. L, Benessaiah, K., Bennett, E., Peterson, G.D., Ghimire, R. (2022). Resilience in times of COVID: What the response to the COVID pandemic teaches us about resilience principles. Ecology & Society, 27(2):16. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-13223-270216

• Muñoz-Erickson, T., Meerow, S., Hobbins, R., Cook, E.M., Iwaniec, D.M., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Grimm, N.B., Barnett, A., Cordero, J., Miller, T.R., Tandazo-Bustamante, F., Robles-Morua, A. (2021). Beyond bouncing back? Comparing and contesting urban resilience in US and Latin American contexts. Landscape and Urban Planning, 214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104173

• Brisbois, B., Feagan, M., Stime, B., Paz-Kukoc, I., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Gaibor, J., Cole, D., Di Ruggiero, E., Hanson, L., Janes, C., Plamondon, K., Spiegel, J., Yassi, A. (2021). Mining, colonial legacies and neoliberalism: A political ecology of health knowledge. New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/10482911211001051

• Iwaniec, D.M., Cook, E.M., Davidson, M., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Georgescu, M., Krayenhoff, E.S., Middel, A., Sampson, D.A., Grimm, N.B. (2020). The co-production of sustainable future scenarios. Landscape and Urban Planning, 197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103744

• Berbés-Blázquez, M., Bunch, M.J., Mulvihill, P.R., Peterson, G.D., van Wendel de Joode, B., (2017). Understanding how access shapes the transformation of ecosystem services to human well-being with an example from Costa Rica. Ecosystem Services 28: 320-327. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.09.010

• Berbés-Blázquez, M., Mitchell, C.L., Burch, S.L., Wandel, J. (2017). Understanding climate change and resilience: Assessing strengths and opportunities for adaptation in the global South. Climatic Change. 141(2):227-241. doi:10.1007/s10584-017-1897-0

• Berbés-Blázquez, M., González, J. A., Pascual, U. (2016). Towards an ecosystem services approach that addresses social power relations. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 19: 134-143. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2016.02.003

• Quinlan, A., Berbés-Blázquez, M., Haider, L.J., Peterson, G.D. (2015). Measuring & assessing resilience in practice: Broadening understanding with multiple disciplinary perspectives. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53: 677-687. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12550

• Berbés-Blázquez, M. (2012). A participatory assessment of ecosystem services and human well-being in rural Costa Rica using photo-voice. Environmental Management, 49(4): 862-875. doi: 10.1007/s00267-012-9822-9