An avid environmental scientist from the Netherlands, Claudia Rot
found her passion for environmental justice during her graduate studies
at Parsons. She is currently a lecturer and researcher at the Department
of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at Wageningen
University.
Claudia Rot received a bachelor's degree in
Environmental and Climate Sciences from Amsterdam University College
where she focused on multi-species justice, working on habitat creation
for pollinators in urban environments. Her passion to understand
intricate
urban issues motivated her to pursue graduate studies in the MS
Design and Urban Ecologies program at Parsons School of Design. “The
program provided me with an understanding of the need for clear and
accessible communication when it comes to urban
issues,” Claudia recalls. “Not only using clear language when
working with communities but also using data visualizations and maps to
distill multi-layered problems into more accessible tools.”
During
her studies, Claudia became an environmental justice advocate. Her
thesis project allowed her to combine her interests in environmental
sciences and social justice. ”Environmental problems are often merely
approached as technological challenges
in the Netherlands, without taking their societal implications into
account.” This drove her to return to her home country to challenge
Dutch institutions, working with universities, governments, and local
organizations, and providing them with a
new lens to see the intersections of societal and environmental
inequalities.
Today, Claudia is a lecturer and researcher at the
Department of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at Wageningen
University in the Netherlands, where she teaches and researches using
cartography, graphic design, linguistics, and community science
as learning tools for environmental justice advocacy. Her Ph.D.
research focuses on the demographic and spatial patterns of
environmental injustice in the Netherlands. She also joined the Het
Nieuwe Institute as a research fellow, where she is developing
the project Beyond Polderen: Exposing the Voids of Environmental
Justice in the Netherlands.