Sukanya Basu
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- Urban sustainability
- Healthy and just food systems
- Gastronomic landscapes
- Biocultural diversity
Biography
Sukanya is a sustainability researcher with a strong interest in transdisciplinary research on the dynamics of socio-ecological systems. Her work focuses on urban and peri urban landscapes and food systems as key entry points for driving sustainable transformations.
She uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and interdisciplinary approach for her research. She is currently interested in food system transformation and its role in improving public and planetary health with special emphasis on just transitions and gastronomic landscapes.
Sukanya has an undergraduate degree in Zoology and a master’s in Natural Resources and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad, India. She completed her PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Goettingen, Germany.
Prior to joining the University, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Goettingen and University of Cambridge. She has also been a visiting researcher at Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden. She was awarded a start-up grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to support her postdoctoral research. She is the recipient of the prestigious Dorothea Schlözer Fellowship for the career advancement of women in science. She currently serves as an Associate Editor at People and Nature, a journal of the British Ecological Society.
Publications
Journal articles
- Basu, S., Zoderer, B. M., Nagendra, H., Verburg, P. H., & Plieninger, T. (2025). Widespread practices and sustainability benefits of foraging in urban blue spaces of India. Nature Cities, Article 1 – 12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025 – 00337‑4
- Plieninger, T., Thapa, P., Fagerholm, N., Basu, S., Bhaskar, D., Nagendra, H., Raymond, C. M., & Torralba, M. (2025). Local peoples’ values and disvalues in and around an Indian protected area undergoing urbanization. Environmental Conservation, 1 – 9. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892925100234
- Basu, S., Nagendra, H., Verburg, P., Plieninger, T. (2023). Perceptions of ecosystem services and knowledge of sustainable development goals around community and private wetlands users in a rapidly growing city. Landscape and Urban Planning (244). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104989
- Basu, S., Nagendra, H., (2020). The Street as Workspace: Assessing Street Vendors’ Rights to Trees in Hyderabad, India. Landscape and Urban Planning (199):103818 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103818
- Basu, S., Nagendra, H., (2020). Perceptions of park visitors on access to urban parks and benefits of green spaces. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening (57): 126959 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126959
- Chowdhury, K., Basu, S., Pramanik, M., Plieninger, T. (2025). Blue infrastructure as nature-based solutions for urban sustainability: Evaluating local perceptions from four Indian megacities. Nature-Based Solutions (7). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100211
Book chapter
- Kabisch, N., Basu, S., Bratman, G., Bosch, M. “Nature-based solutions for mental health.” In Phearson, M.T., Frantzeskaki, N., Kabisch, N. A modern guide to Nature-based solutions for cities, 2023. https://urbansystemslab.com/nbs-for-cities
Online articles
- Basu, S. (2022). Urban Waterscapes: Resilient Planning for Future Sustainable Cities. People • Nature • Landscapes. Medium. https://medium.com/people-nature-landscapes/urban-waterscapes-resilient-planning-for-future-sustainable-cities-fa89856d6cf6
- Basu, S. (2024). Exploring Urban Edible Foraging: Navigating Megacity Landscapes. People • Nature • Landscapes. Medium. https://medium.com/people-nature-landscapes/exploring-urban-edible-foraging-navigating-megacity-landscapes-caa5e1ab7a82
- Basu, S. (2025). The PhD Rollercoaster: Highs, Lows, and the Moments That Mattered. People • Nature • Landscapes. Medium. https://medium.com/people-nature-landscapes/the-phd-rollercoaster-highs-lows-and-the-moments-that-mattered-387ca7a7421b