Bio

I am so proud to have been included in BBC’s 100 Women list for 2019 for my advocacy on women and girls in our urban environments. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this important work! It is always a work in progress and we are all better working together to raise awareness. --------- I am an urban anthropologist working to create better cities for people through the lens of anthropology. As an anthropologist, I'm curious about us - homo sapiens sapiens - and why we behave the way we do in society and spaces. As an urbanist, I'm passionate about our cities - our unique manufactured habitats - and how we can make them better for us mentally and physically. As an urban anthropologist, I am committed to applying anthropological principles, research methods, and the lessons learned from our collective history to the present day. To this end, I have built my career around the specialization of behavior in public space: observing interactions between people and the built environment in the spaces between buildings. But as a human being and woman I've also made it my goal to advocate for this shift in thinking - toward a more humanist approach to the building and management of our cities. With so many ideas out there about tech-centered ''smart'' cities, we need now more than ever to reevaluate our shared ideals for our urban future. It is my hope that through meaningful measurement, evidence-based design, and humanist intent, we can create better cities for all of our fellow human beings. I have previously worked as the communications manager at Project for Public Spaces, as an urban anthropologist for wayfinding company City ID, as the project manager at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, and in various research and education roles in an academic and non-academic context. I have a Bachelor's in Anthropology from Arizona State University and a Masters of Urban Studies from Portland State University with a focus in Public Space. For more information on me, you can visit http://thinkurban.org/, and find me on Twitter and Instagram as @think_katrina.