Liana Banuelos

I am a second year masters in city planning candidate at MIT. I grew up in California, along the central coast, home to John Steinbeck, cute otters, and unparalleled Mexican food. I moved to the east cost for undergrad, also at MIT, and have been in the area since, aside from spending some time in Washington DC, Chile, and Hawaii. My primary academic interests are in environmental policy and planning, specifically climate change adaptation and mitigation. Within this topic, I’ve focused on risk perception, green infrastructure and triple bottom line benefits, civic engagement, and economic development. When I’m not thinking about these things, I spend my time reading and writing short stories, strength training, rock climbing, wearing shorts in the winter, and obnoxiously cheering for Bay Area sports teams.