Amy M. Lerner, PhD

I’m an Associate Teaching Professor in Urban Studies and Planning at UCSD. I joined UCSD in 2020 after 5 years at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where I worked in a Sustainability Science Graduate Program and National Laboratory. I have a PhD in Geography from UC Santa Barbara and a Master’s in Environmental Studies from Brown University.

I am passionate about the relationships between humans and the environment, and especially how and why people modify the landscapes around them. My biggest focus area is on agriculture in and around cities, and I also study the implementation and use of green infrastructure, climate adaptation and resilience, and city-university partnerships for sustainability transformations. I push the conversations we have about sustainability to think about what we want to sustain and for whom? Understanding diverse ways of knowing and human-nature relationships is central to our approaches to correct our wrongdoings in human-environment relationships.  

My courses at UCSD include Urban World System (USP 2), Sustainable Development (USP 171), The Design of Social Research (USP 125) and a new course I am developing on Sustainable Food Systems (USP 142C).

Contact me: amlerner at ucsd.edu