Robert I. McDonald

Robert I. McDonald

Dr. Robert McDonald is Senior Scientist for Sustainable Land Use at The Nature Conservancy, where he is lead scientist for the organization’s efforts to figure out how to make cities more sustainable. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University, and has published more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, many of them on the science of how cities impact and depend on the environment. He blogs for The Nature Conservancy’s Cool Green Science blog and has published two recent essays on urban/environment interactions in a collection called Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Global Issues (McGraw-Hill) and in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Rob McDonald at Bullitt Center Gallery

Join The Nature Conservancy's Senior Scientist for Urban Sustainability, Rob McDonald, author of Conservation for Cities, and Jessie Israel, Puget Sound Conservation Director, fo ra discussion on green infrastructure and its impact on the well-being of people in cities. Optional tour of the Bullitt Center, considered one of the greenest buildings in the world, to follow.

Conservation for Cities at Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History

Cities are the most altered landscapes created by people, and by 2050 the world’s urban population will swell by almost 3 billion. How can we protect and restore green infrastructure – natural habitat which supplies crucial benefits to urban residents and helps cities adapt to climate change?