معرفی
Nataya Friedan is a Postdoctoral Associate in Urban Climate Mitigation and Adaptation at the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities, affiliated with the Department of City and Regional Planning in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University. Her work bridges social anthropology and urban climate policy, focusing on how scientific evidence is negotiated in politically and economically charged environments.
Her research centers on climate adaptation and misinformation in North American cities, particularly in Houston, Texas—a major oil industry hub. Using ethnographic methods, she investigates how climate change evidence is interpreted or denied by civil servants, business leaders, politicians, and activists during infrastructure planning. Her current book project, Selling Swampland to Yankees, explores the political life of scientific data and the economic concept of externality in flood mitigation efforts. Her work reveals that climate inaction often stems not from outright denial of climate change, but from the assertion that 'fuel is cheap'—a claim requiring the erasure of both historical liabilities and future risks.
Nataya's recent publications and lectures highlight a strong focus on the sociopolitical dimensions of climate adaptation, emphasizing ethnography as a tool to ground abstract climate debates in lived urban experiences. Her work trends toward interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of anthropology, urban planning, environmental policy, and political economy.
Scientific Awards and Funding:
- National Science Foundation Research Support
- Wenner Gren Foundation Research Support
Advising and Grants: While no formal advisees are listed, Nataya has been instrumental in founding Collectivo Catalyst, an educational fellowship and advocacy network that mentors young people across North and South America in rethinking drug policy. Her research has been supported by competitive grants from the National Science Foundation and the Wenner Gren Foundation, indicating strong external validation and funding capacity.
Labs and Research Centers: Nataya is affiliated with the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities, where she contributes to interdisciplinary research on urban resilience and climate adaptation. Her work integrates ethnographic fieldwork with policy analysis, positioning her at the forefront of socially engaged urban scholarship.
