Cathy's doctoral research critically explores the relevance of social-ecological resilience for urban governance in theory and practice. It draws on empirical work with government agencies across Europe (particularly Sweden) and in Melbourne, Australia. Cathy delivered a TEDx talk on ‘The Paradox of Urban Resilience´ in early 2011 and hosted the inaugural AESOP 'Resilient Cities' Working Group in Stockholm in 2010.
Cathy's broader research interests include how urban governance deals with ecology and how strategic spatial planning deals with uncertainty. She recently co-edited a special edition of Town Planning Review on this topic.
Cathy has a Bachelor Applied Science in Planning from RMIT University and a Masters Environmental Science from Monash University, Australia.
She was the Executive Director Strategy Development for the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment until 2005 where she led the development and implementation of Melbourne's metropolitan plan, Melbourne 2030.
She sat on the editorial board of Urban Policy and Research Journal for 6 years and the Board of the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority for 2 years.
