Federica Risi

Federica is an interdisciplinary urban practitioner and boundary spanner working at the intersection of urban policy, research, and practice, with a focus on nature-based solutions, urban ecosystem restoration, and just climate transitions in cities. In the last ten years, she has worked across Europe, Latin America, and Africa, engaging with complex urban realities and their ecosystems, and addressing challenges related to socio-environmental risks, urban informality, migration, land-use pressure, climate justice, and governance innovation.

Her drive comes from wanting to reimagine and reframe the relationship between cities, nature, and human health through the lenses of planetary health and nature-positive urbanism: nature as the container and humans as part of it. To do this, she centres her work on bridging the science-policy-practice interface, translating research and diverse forms of knowledge into actionable policy strategies, and supporting urban communities in responding to anthropogenic climate change, biodiversity loss, and social injustice in more integrated ways. 

Currently, she is a Senior Policy and Project Officer at the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN), where she leads and contribute to EU-funded research and innovation projects (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Driving Urban Transitions) on planetary health and inclusive nature-based solutions. She also contributes to strategic initiatives such as the Greening Cities Partnership of the Urban Agenda for the EU, and designs and delivers thematic Policy Labs and research activities for EUKN members and rotating EU Council Presidencies. As the EUKN’s focal point for nature-positive transitions and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), Federica works closely with national ministries, cities, and international partners to design policy-relevant research, facilitates co-creation processes, and strengthens multi-level governance. 

With a foundation in action-research and agile project management, she has cultivated extensive experience in facilitating urban living labs, stakeholder engagement processes, and transnational exchanges, complemented by her appreciation for citizen science and storytelling as powerful mediums to bring lived experience into policy decisions. 

As a practitioner, she is deeply motivated by creating bridges and building communities where we can collectively learn, grow, and heal. This is why, since 2024, Federica is actively engaged in coaching and mentoring through initiatives like the Public Space Academy and the Cities Forum international mentorship programme, heartily believing these collective learning spaces can help us harness the empathy, curiosity, trust, and shared ownership real urban transformation needs.