Lida Aljabar
urban sustainability | resilience | climate justice
Meliha [Lida] Aljabar is a sustainability and resilience specialist, urban planner, and educator striving to build a global future that is just, resilient and joyous.
ABOUT
Meliha [Lida] Aljabar is an internationally recognized leader in urban sustainability and climate adaptation. ​Lida takes an equity-centered and systems view in navigating a just transition to a green economy. She holds 10+ years delivering strategic solutions in equitable climate adaptation, disaster recovery, clean energy and decarbonization across the United States.
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As Director of Climate Resiliency Planning at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Lida led initiatives at the intersections of climate equity, affordable housing and neighborhood infrastructure in New York City. Previously, she managed the national Climate-Smart Cities program at The Trust for Public Land, advancing green infrastructure and civic technology for climate action, and has expanded public realm through community-engaged design and cultivating public-private partnerships in the Washington, DC area.
Lida is an AICP certified planner, LEED Accredited Professional and an educator of climate resilience planning and community development at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
SELECT WORK
Resilient Edgemere Community Initiative
[implementing a local climate adaptation framework]
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Climate-Smart Cities @ The Trust for Public Land
[program delivery in green infrastructure & civic technology]
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Rosslyn Sector Plan & Rosslyn Highlands Park+
[placemaking & public spaces]
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Coastal Resilience & Urban Placemaking Studios
[academic teaching]
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Environmental stewardship as community reclamation [book chapter]