糖心原创

Centre for the Environment
 

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Christopher Ives

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences

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Biography

I am an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist with expertise in urban social-ecological systems and the human dimensions of environmental management and sustainability. My research interests are broad and typically bring together different disciplinary approaches and types of knowledge to tackle real-world sustainability challenges, especially in urban settings. In particular, I am interested in understanding how people relate to and interact with the natural environments, and the dynamics of sustainability transformations. Increasingly my work is focussed on the 'deeper' dimensions of sustainability such as values, beliefs, worldviews, and the potential for religion to offer new perspectives on sustainability challenges.

I began my academic career at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, where I completed a Bachelor of Environmental Science (2006). I went on to complete a PhD in urban ecology and environmental planning (Macquarie University, 2012), in which I studied the biodiversity of urban riparian (riverside) systems in Sydney. While working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (University of Melbourne), I decided to pursue my interest in the social sciences, undertaking research on how people value landscapes under threat by urban expansion. After this, I worked at RMIT University's Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group. As part of the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program, I completed research on people's values for urban green spaces and how these could be accommodated in environmental planning policy. In 2015 I joined a research team at Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany and developed a framework for thinking about nature connection as a leverage point for sustainability transformations. In 2016 I was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography at the 糖心原创, and promoted to Associate Professor in 2022. I continue to develop research on various topics related to sustainability science, and lead the MSc in Environmental Leadership & Management programme, launched in 2019.

Expertise Summary

I have published research articles on a range of topics including:

  • sustainability transformations
  • religion and sustainability
  • conservation social science
  • urban ecology and urban planning
  • environmental planning policy
  • human-environment relationships

Professional Affiliations

  • Editor for the journal
  • Fellow of the
  • Fellow,
  • Member,
  • Fellow,

Teaching Summary

My teaching portfolio covers a number of topics related to environmental management and sustainability. My teaching straddles both physical and human geography, as successful environmental management… read more

Research Summary

My current research focuses on understanding the multi-dimensional nature of human-environment relationships and how reconnecting society with nature can help in transformations towards… read more

Recent Publications

  • JENS KOEHRSEN and CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, 2025. Ambio. 54, 1318鈥�1333
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES and CHRISTOPHER BAKER, 2024. Global Sustainability. 7, e45
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, JEREMY H. KIDWELL, CHRISTOPHER B. ANDERSON, PAOLA ARIAS-AREVALO, RACHELLE K. GOULD, JASPER O. KENTER and RANJINI MURALI, 2024. Ecology and Society. 29(2), 10
  • GARRETT HUTSON, JULIA BAIRD, CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, GILLIAN DALE, JENNIFER M. HOLZER and RYAN PLUMMER, 2024. People and Nature. 6(5), 1974-1986

Current research students

Jordan Blanchard-Lafayette Jordan's PhD research focuses on the intersection between human cultural and environmental change in the context of the Brazilian Amazon, where deforestation frontiers are often solely attributed to economic or political drivers. He uses large-scale data on cultural preferences to understand how culture is changing in the context of deforestation frontiers, and employ a political ecology lens to unpack the power dynamics at play in these shifting social-ecological systems. This research project ultimately aims to understand how to measure cultural change at farm-forest frontiers, what the relationship is between cultural and environmental change in the Brazilian Amazon, and how individual cultural values that influence land-use decisions change as a result of these changes

Rebecca Bicksler Becca's research and practice is focused on participation and engagement in disaster risk reduction, drawing from critical disaster studies, complexity theory, sustainable futures, and her past work in urban planning and heritage protection. Her PhD project evaluates scenarios as a method for exploring the complexity of climate adaptation, including the deeper held values and beliefs which are difficult to measure in traditional risk calculations. The scenarios are designed to engage local residents in an exploration of the topic of managed retreat and the vulnerabilities and capacities within this approach in Southwest Florida (USA).

Katie Keddie Katie's research focuses on low-carbon urban transformations, with a focus on notions of place, social justice and community engagement. Her case study is Nottingham, a medium sized city within the UK as the city council has the ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2028. Using semi-structured interviews, ethnography, community workshops and policy analysis, this research hopes to ensure that transformations for sustainable futures are not framed by a singular perspective, therefore making them more equitable and representative of the place they are occurring in.

Emmanuel Etim Emma's thesis is entitled "Comparative Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management: Regulatory, Behavioral, and Environmental Justice Perspectives in Nigeria and the UK"

Stephen Parkinson Parky's thesis is entitled "Households and digital technology in a 'circular society"

Past research students

Yilong Li Yilong's research focussed on sustainable land use decision making in China. The project customised the participatory approaches in the Chinese context by analysing the land use decision context, showing potential future land use planning with enhanced public participation, and evaluating land use scenarios based on multi-stakeholders.

Pooja Singh Pooja's research involved developing a conceptual socio-environmental systems model of flood vulnerability in Kosi Basin, India. It involved using a multi-method approach to collect and assess the existing local knowledges in the system. This rich data was used to identify deep leverage points in the system where positive transformational change can be introduced to make vulnerable communities residing in Kosi resilient with time.

Abdulrahman Zawawi Abdulrahman's PhD research examines the usage and development of greenways in Saudi Arabia and how to activate their potential as active transportation corridors. This project contributes to increasing urban liveability, decarbonising urban mobility, and improving public health, which are central goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 and its Green Initiatives

Lei (Lucia) Li "Lei's research identified benefits, challenges and opportunities of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NBS) in China in the context of the Sponge City Program (SCP). She specifically investigated the perceptions, participation and interactions among government, general public and media actors. Her project drew on multiple disciplines and methods, covering environmental management and governance, urban planning, sustainable water management, and media studies. This research helped to bridge knowledge gaps at the interface of science, policy and practice for sustainable and green cities.

Neven Tandaric Neven's project explored how urban planning in Zagreb, Croatia, incorporated, enabled and responded to cultural ecosystem services across the socialist and post-socialist regimes. The study involved the collection and analysis of spatial data (historical aerial images), planning documents (historical urban plans), and interviews with park users, gardeners, urban planners, academics, and local activists. The findings pointed at socialist planning providing more opportunities for cultural ecosystem services to hatch and grow as citizens interacted with urban nature than post-socialist planning. The results inform contemporary green infrastructure planning in post-socialist cities and beyond.

Basiru Shehu Basiru's PhD research project explored the question of how to spatially optimise biofuel production in Nigeria. The work demonstrated how the power of multicriteria techniques (Analytical Hierarchy Process) could be combined with computer simulation to support evidence-based spatial decisions. Though the application was biofuel-related, the methodology is transferable to any location-based research problem that is multi-dimensional in nature.

Mikaela D'Souza Mikaela's research explored how values influence public perceptions of flood management schemes. She assessed individuals' transcendental values and using a variety of methods investigated perceptions towards different flood management schemes exploring the effectiveness, appearance and benefits for nature and wildlife. The study revealed that the public generally holds favourable attitudes towards Natural Flood Management (NFM) over grey engineering, driven largely by people associating NFM with attractiveness and benefits to wildlife, however grey engineering schemes were perceived to be more effective. The research has been published in the Journal of Environmental Management, which can be found .

Samuel Valman Sam's MRes project was titled "The criteria conundrum: Hydrological, ecological, chemical and morphological environmental variables result in inconsistent classifications of Anthropogenic streams". Using many of the different defining characteristics traditionally used to classify rivers, 50 anthropogenically influenced streams across the British midlands were sampled. Cluster analysis then allowed us to see how these rivers would be grouped based solely on these statistics. When comparing the results of these cluster analyses it became clear that many different environmental variables did not align with others in the intuitive ways that might have pre-emptively been expected.

My teaching portfolio covers a number of topics related to environmental management and sustainability. My teaching straddles both physical and human geography, as successful environmental management requires a sophisticated understanding of ecological and landscape dynamics as well as human behaviour, attitudes and values.

Philosophy

Creating a sustainable future is the most complex challenge that humanity has ever faced. The kind of education needed to meet this challenge therefore must be aligned to the scale and magnitude of this challenge. Unlike traditional disciplinary education, which seeks to deepen understanding of a single topic area, the interconnected and systemic nature of sustainability challenges requires an interdisciplinary approach. My teaching therefore seeks to weave together and integrate relevant knowledge from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The need for skills to deliver change requires a teaching approach that facilitates learning through doing, observing and reflecting. Finally, the existential confrontation that the global environmental crisis presents and the fundamental need for collective self-restraint and humility means that education must incorporate elements of the heart and the will (i.e. ethics and character) not just the head.

Programmes and modules

I developed and direct the MSc in Environmental Leadership and Management (MSc ELM). This interdisciplinary programme develops students' knowledge of environmental issues through exposure to applied environmental scholarship and current environmental case studies in climate change, water resource management and ecological conservation. It also hones students' leadership capacities through providing an opportunity to gain a Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management through the . As a capstone for the programme, all students undertake an applied project with an environmental organisation. The programme has been accredited by the environmental professional body .

Within the MSc ELM, I lead two modules. The first is "Techniques for Environmental Solutions", which covers a range of skills and techniques needed for environmental practice. Through the lens of a local case example, students develop skills in systems thinking and mapping, stakeholder analysis, social science research techniques, geospatial analysis, research design and statistical testing. The second module is "Perspectives on Environmental Leadership". This module helps students to deconstruct traditional notions of leadership that can constrain effective action for environmental sustainability. Through direct interaction with environmental leaders from around the world, students develop their own leadership philosophy which can act as a foundation for their careers.

Relevant publications

Ives, C. D., and Wilkinson, J. (2023). Ecological Leadership in a Planetary Emergency. In The Handbook of Climate Change Leadership in Organisations. Routledge: 129-154.

Martin, S., Ives, C. D., & Carney, B. (2023). Universities as Agents of Change Green Academy to ecological University. In Purcell, W. M. and Haddock-Fraser, J. (Eds) The Bloomsbury Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change. Bloomsbury Publishing. Pp. 13-20.

Ives, C.D. (2023) "Cultivating environmental leadership: Learning conditions for developing leadership potential." In Byrom, T. and Cawkwell, J. (Eds) The teaching and learning challenges of 21st-century higher education: Prioritising pedagogy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Pp 226-242.

Current Research

My current research focuses on understanding the multi-dimensional nature of human-environment relationships and how reconnecting society with nature can help in transformations towards sustainability. I am also exploring how religion shapes values for nature and may offer unique moral and organisational resources for environmental stewardship.

I welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants who are interested in exploring postgraduate research in the above areas of research interest.

For a complete list of publications, please click for my Google Scholar page.

Past Research

Previously, I have conducted research on a range of topics to do with environmental management and conservation, in particular:

  • The values and preferences of urban residents for green open space.
  • The biodiversity of urban riparian systems.
  • Terrestrial macroinvertebrates as ecological indicators (with a particular focus on ants)
  • Urban river management.

Future Research

In the future I will continue to pursue research on the role of religion and faith-based organisations in advancing sustainability, especially in cities. I will also explore the concept of leadership in environmental contexts, in particular the importance of character and personal values in effecting meaningful, transformative change.

  • JENS KOEHRSEN and CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, 2025. Ambio. 54, 1318鈥�1333
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES and CHRISTOPHER BAKER, 2024. Global Sustainability. 7, e45
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, JEREMY H. KIDWELL, CHRISTOPHER B. ANDERSON, PAOLA ARIAS-AREVALO, RACHELLE K. GOULD, JASPER O. KENTER and RANJINI MURALI, 2024. Ecology and Society. 29(2), 10
  • GARRETT HUTSON, JULIA BAIRD, CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, GILLIAN DALE, JENNIFER M. HOLZER and RYAN PLUMMER, 2024. People and Nature. 6(5), 1974-1986
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., BUYS, CLARK, OGUNBODE, CHARLES, PALMER, MATILDA, ROSE, ANEIRA and VALERIO, RUTH, 2023. Sustainability Science. 18, 877-890
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES, NIKO SCH脛PKE, CHRISTOPH WOIWODE and CHRISTINE WAMSLER, 2023. Sustainability Science. 18, 2777鈥�2786
  • CHRISTOPHER D. IVES and JENNY WILKINSON, 2023. . In: DOUG MACKIE, ed., The handbook of climate change leadership in organisations Taylor & Francis.
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, FREETH, REBECCA and FISCHER, JOERN, 2019. Ambio.
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D. and KIDWELL, JEREMY, 2019. Sustainability Science. (In Press.)
  • LAW, ELIZABETH A., BENNETT, NATHAN J., IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., FRIEDMAN, RACHEL, DAVIS, KATRINA J., ARCHIBALD, CARLA and WILSON, KERRIE A., 2018. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY. 32(2), 294-303
  • FRIEDMAN, RACHEL S., LAW, ELIZABETH A., BENNETT, NATHAN J., IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., THORN, JESSICA P. R. and WILSON, KERRIE A., 2018. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS. 13(5),
  • WILKERSON, MARIT L., MITCHELL, MATTHEW G. E., SHANAHAN, DANIELLE, WILSON, KERRIE A., IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., LOVELOCK, CATHERINE E. and RHODES, JONATHAN R., 2018. ECOSYSTEM SERVICES. 31, 102-110
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., ABSON, DAVID J., VON WEHRDEN, HENRIK, DORNINGER, CHRISTIAN, KLANIECKI, KATHLEEN and FISCHER, JOERN, 2018. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE. 13(5), 1389-1397
  • GUERRERO, ANGELA M., BENNETT, NATHAN J., WILSON, KERRIE A., CARTER, NEIL, GILL, DAVID, MILLS, MORENA, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., SELINSKE, MATTHEW J., LARROSA, CECILIA, BEKESSY, SARAH, JANUCHOWSKI-HARTLEY, FRASER A., TRAVERS, HENRY, WYBORN, CARINA A. and NUNO, ANA, 2018. ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY. 23(3),
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., GORDON, ASCELIN, OKE, CATHY, RAYMOND, CHRISTOPHER M., HEHIR, AILISH and BEKESSY, SARAH A., 2018. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. 61(12), 2133-2150
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, OKE, CATHY, HEHIR, AILISH, GORDON, ASCELIN, WANG, YAN and BEKESSY, SARAH A, 2017. Landscape and Urban Planning. 161, 32-43
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D., GIUSTI, MATTEO, FISCHER, JOERN, ABSON, DAVID J., KLANIECKI, KATHLEEN, DORNINGER, CHRISTIAN, LAUDAN, JOSEFINE, BARTHEL, STEPHAN, PAIVI, ABERNETHY, MART脥N-L脫PEZ, BERTA, RAYMOND, CHRISTOPHER M., KENDAL, DAVE and VON WEHRDEN, HENRIK, 2017. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 26-27, 106-113
  • MUHAR, A., RAYMOND, C.M., VAN DEN BORN, R J G, BAUER, N., BOCK, K., BRAITO, M., BUIJS, A., FLINT, C., DE GROOT, W., IVES, C.D., MITROFANENKO, T., PLIENINGER, T., VAN RIPER, CARENA J. and TUCKER, C., 2017. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D. and FISCHER, JOERN, 2017. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY. 31(6), 1483-1485
  • ABSON, DAVID J, FISCHER, JOERN, LEVENTON, JULIA, NEWIG, JENS, SCHOMERUS, THOMAS, VILSMAIER, ULLI, VON WEHRDEN, HENRIK, ABERNETHY, PAIVI, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, JAGER, NICOLAS W and OTHERS, 2016. Ambio. 46(1), 30-39
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and KELLY, ANDREW H, 2016. Landscape Research. 41(5), 495-509
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, LENTINI, PIA E, THRELFALL, CARAGH G, IKIN, KAREN, SHANAHAN, DANIELLE F, GARRARD, GEORGIA E, BEKESSY, SARAH A, FULLER, RICHARD A, MUMAW, LAURA, RAYNER, LAURA and OTHERS, 2016. Global ecology and biogeography. 25(1), 117-126
  • MARON, MARTINE, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, KUJALA, HEINI, BULL, JOSEPH W, MASEYK, FLEUR JF, BEKESSY, SARAH, GORDON, ASCELIN, WATSON, JAMES EM, LENTINI, PIA E, GIBBONS, PHILIP and OTHERS, 2016. BioScience. biw038
  • CORNEY, HELEN, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and BEKESSY, SARAH, 2015. Ecological Management & Restoration. 16(3), 199-205
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, BIGGS, DUAN, HARDY, MATHEW J, LECHNER, ALEX M, WOLNICKI, MATEUSZ and RAYMOND, CHRISTOPHER M, 2015. Land Use Policy. 47, 332-341
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and BEKESSY, SARAH A, 2015. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 13(10), 568-573
  • WHITEHEAD, AMY L, KUJALA, HEINI, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, GORDON, ASCELIN, LENTINI, PIA E, WINTLE, BRENDAN A, NICHOLSON, EMILY and RAYMOND, CHRISTOPHER M, 2014. Conservation biology. 28(4), 992-1003
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and KENDAL, DAVE, 2014. Journal of environmental management. 144, 67-72
  • LECHNER, AM, RAYMOND, CM, ADAMS, VM, POLYAKOV, M, GORDON, A, RHODES, JR, MILLS, M, STEIN, A, IVES, CD and LEFROY, EC, 2014. Conservation biology. 28(6), 1497-1511
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and KENDAL, DAVE, 2013. Land Use Policy. 34, 80-90
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, TAYLOR, MARK PATRICK, NIPPERESS, DAVID A and HOSE, GRANT C, 2013. Landscape and Urban Planning. 110, 155-163
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, BEILIN, RUTH, GORDON, ASCELIN, KENDAL, DAVE, HAHS, AMY K and MCDONNELL, MARK J, 2013. Local assessment of Melbourne: The biodiversity and social-ecological dynamics of Melbourne, Australia. In: Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities Springer Netherlands. 385-407
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, TAYLOR, MARK PATRICK, DAVIES, PETER J and OTHERS, 2013. A setback for river and riparian ecosystems: A response to the New South Wales Office of Water 2012 policy on riparian corridors Environmental Planning and Law Journal. 30, 122-131
  • DYBALL, ROBERT, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D and WHITE, IAN, 2013. Regional assessment of Oceania. In: Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities Springer Netherlands. 287-289
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, HOSE, GRANT C, NIPPERESS, DAVID A and TAYLOR, MARK PATRICK, 2011. Landscape and Urban Planning. 103(3), 372-382
  • DAVIES, PETER J, IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, FINDLAY, SOPHIA J, TAYLOR, MARK P and OTHERS, 2011. Urban rivers and riparian systems鈥擠irections and recommendations for legislators, policy makers, developers and community users Environmental and Planning Law Journal. 28(5), 313
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, HOSE, GRANT C, NIPPERESS, DAVID A and TAYLOR, MARK PATRICK, 2011. Urban Ecosystems. 14(1), 1-16
  • TAYLOR, MP, IVES, CD, DAVIES, PJ and STOKES, R, 2011. Troubled waters-an examination of the disconnect between river science and law Environmental Science & Technology. 45, 8178鈥�8179
  • IVES, CHRISTOPHER D, PATRICK TAYLOR, MARK, NIPPERESS, DAVID A and DAVIES, PETER, 2010. New directions in urban biodiversity conservation: The role of science and its interaction with local environmental policy Environmental and Planning Law Journal. 27(4), 249
  • TAYLOR, MARK PATRICK, IVES, CHRISTOPHER and OTHERS, 2009. Legislative and policy challenges for the protection of biodiversity and bushland habitats: An evidence-based approach Environmental Planning and Law Journal. 26, 35-48

Centre for the Environment

C/O School of Geography
The 糖心原创
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0)115 846 7712