Wendy Steele

Wendy Steele is a Professor in Environmental Sustainability and Critical Governance whose research sits at the nexus of critical social sciences and environmental humanities. She is the RMIT Director of the Planetary Civics Inquiry (PCI)  which is an initiative of the College of Design and Social Contest and active alliance of researchers, educators, policymakers and designers committed to transforming how we conceive, care for and govern our entangled planet in climate change. PCI’s goal is to build understanding and civic practices that support Earth’s deeply connected planetary scale living systems, and how we need creative new ways of working together to protect and care for them. The Inquiry promotes planetary imagination - and the vital role of the social sciences, arts and humanities in addressing planetary scale challenges.

Professor Steele is an award-winning researcher, writer, activist and educator. She leads research onhuman-nature relationships in climate change with a particular emphasis on regenerative futures, governing planetary commons, climate activism, and rethinking critical infrastructure. Her books include 'Planning Wild Cities: Human–nature relationships in the urban age' (Routledge 2020), 'Quiet Activism: Climate action at the local scale' (Palgrave 2021), and 'The Sustainable Development Goals, Higher Education: A transformative agenda?' (Palgrave-Macmillan 2021) and 'Hot Cities' (Edward Elgar City Series). In transdisciplinary partnershipswith Dark Matter Labs (DmL) and Politics for Tomorrow (PfT) she has been working with many others to help support and promote more regenerative futures through planetary and community stewardship.