Dr. Sara Meerow is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado and a faculty fellow in the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) as of August 2026. Before that she was an associate professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of urban geography and planning and focus on the challenge of how to make cities more resilient in the face of climate change and other social and environmental hazards while also making them more sustainable and just. Her research focuses on conceptualizations of urban resilience, the governance and planning of urban resilience in a changing climate (with a focus on heat and flooding), and urban green infrastructure.

Email: sara.meerow [at] colorado [dot] edu  

Dr. Francesca Peroni holds an interdisciplinary background with a Master's Degree in architecture (IUAV, Venice - Italy), an Advanced Master's in GIScience and UAV (University of Padua - Italy), and a PhD in Human Geography (University of Padua - Italy, 2022). She mainly works on topics related to cities, with a focus on urban sustainability and spatial planning, and adopts a geographical approach.

In 2024, she was awarded an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship by the European Commission for her project RESTART. The project addresses climate justice in cities, focusing on heatwaves and integrating procedural, distributional, and recognitional justice dimensions. RESTART aims to develop an operational framework for inclusive climate adaptation plans, using Padua (Italy) and Tempe (US) as case studies. The project will be conducted at Arizona State University (with Prof. Sara Meerow), University of Padua (with Prof. Massimo De Marchi), and includes a secondment at the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (with Prof. Isabelle Anguelovski). 

Consolata is a PhD student in Geography at ASU. Her research interests focus on the intricate dynamics of social vulnerability, heat vulnerability, and environmental justice, with a particular focus on marginalized communities. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies, Consolata aims to uncover and address the spatial and temporal dimensions of these pressing issues. Her work is driven by a commitment to understanding and mitigating the impacts of environmental hazards on vulnerable populations, striving to contribute to more equitable and resilient communities.

Paul will be starting as a PhD student in Geography at CU Boulder in Fall 2026.