Efadul Huq

Efadul Huq is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at Smith College, where he conducts research at the intersection of socioecological change, regional development, and climate change impacts on urban and rural communities. His work focuses on understanding how global displacements and climate change shape livelihoods and ecosystems, with particular attention to Bangladesh and the United States.

Dr. Huq's research expertise spans environmental justice, international community development, urban sustainability, and political ecology. His approach integrates mixed methods including spatial analysis, qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine wetland habitations, urban climate governance, and community resilience. Notably, his work recognizes and elevates people's collective planning practices in environmental planning contexts, particularly in climate-impacted cities. His research integrates food, housing, and livelihood issues to identify contextually sensitive, nature-based pathways for people-centered urbanism.

Dr. Huq actively collaborates with community organizations, advocacy groups, citizen science initiatives, and professional planning organizations. His transnationally engaged research includes collaborative work with community-based advocacy organizations in Bangladesh focused on wetlands, rivers, and informal settlements. He also collaborates with the Queer Archives of the Bengal Delta, which preserves queer social and political memories relevant to the Bengal Delta region.

His scholarly contributions examine themes of insurgent planning practices, environmental justice, climate migration, urban adaptation, and the politics of care in urban development. Through his publications, Dr. Huq challenges conventional approaches to resilient development and highlights alternative pathways that center community knowledge and practices.

• Between Queer Joy and Injury: The Making and Unmaking of a Queer Sanctuary, Nanur Basha, in Bangladesh (2024)
• Green Informalities as Socially Just Ecological Infrastucture: Enduring with Dignity at the Edges of Resilient Development in Dhaka (2024)
• The destructive work of restoration: Fishing communities facing territorialization in Turag river (2024)
• Urbanizing social reproduction: (Re)thinking the politics of care in capitalist urban development (2024)

Dr. Huq's research demonstrates consistent engagement with issues of environmental justice, community resilience, and transformative planning practices across multiple contexts. His work bridges scholarly inquiry with community action, emphasizing the importance of centering marginalized voices in planning and development processes.