Janelle Knox Hayes

Janelle Knox-Hayes serves as Professor of Economic Geography and Planning in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, where she directs the Resilient Communities Lab. Her research focuses on climate governance and building socio-economic, cultural, and environmental resilience for communities. She specializes in examining how community engagement and Traditional Ecological Knowledge can strengthen climate assessments and planning, while studying the effects of compound climate risks on vulnerable urban populations. Her work includes developing frameworks for community-based co-design of renewable energy systems and understanding how values shape planning across different scales. As director of the Environmental Policy and Planning Group, she leads initiatives investigating the intersection of environmental governance, social values, and market systems. Her scholarly contributions include numerous peer-reviewed articles and influential books such as "Saving for Retirement," "The Culture of Markets: The Political Economy of Climate Governance," and the "Routledge Handbook of Financial Geography." Through her leadership of the Resilient Communities Lab, she continues to advance understanding of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies while promoting sustainable development practices