Audrey Smith

My research examines the complex relationships between people and the environment through the lens of social-ecological systems and political ecology. I study how land-use change, development policy, and community-based natural resource management shape livelihoods and ecosystems. Methodologically, I combine remote sensing, GIS, and machine learning with qualitative and policy analysis to reveal patterns, drivers, and the political–economic mechanisms behind them. Substantively, I examine global food systems and food security through a coupled human–natural systems lens, situating human–environment interactions within global environmental change. Much of my work is in tropical conservation and development in the Global South, where historical legacies, contemporary governance, and investment dynamics create both acute vulnerabilities and opportunities for more just, sustainable futures.