Natalia is a postdoctoral researcher in the NovelEco project and an environmental and global health
anthropologist. Her work explores how health emerges at the intersection of society, nature, and
biodiversity, with a particular interest in urban environments. She is especially interested in One
Health and Planetary Health approaches as they are lived and practiced in cities and global changing
contexts. Through a more-than-human and multispecies perspective, Natalia examines how urban
nature, human health, and biodiversity interact, generating both synergies and trade-offs in rapidly
changing global landscapes.
Her research brought together global health frameworks and social science perspectives to explore the
health meanings and values attributed to urban nature, focusing on novel ecosystems. Her work took
place in Bogotá, Colombia, where she studied Los Cerros, a peri-urban landscape shaped by
degradation and community-led restoration, and in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she explored the
biodiversity and mental health values of urban wild spaces in Nordhavnstippen, a post-industrial
landscape embedded in sustainability and urban development narratives.
Her research is grounded in qualitative, place-based and participatory approaches and aims to
contribute to more inclusive and ecologically attuned understandings of health in cities. This work has
led to publications, conference presentations, and interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly with
the Living Lab Urban Solutions to Green Transitions at the University of Copenhagen and Los Cerros
Foundation in Bogotá, Colombia.
Publications:
Rodriguez Castañeda, N., Pineda-Pinto, M., Gulsrud, N. M., Cooper, C., O’Donnell, M., & Collier,
M. (2024). Exploring the restorative capacity of urban green spaces and their biodiversity through an
adapted One Health approach: A scoping review. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 100,
128489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128489
Rodriguez-Castañeda, N., Pineda-Pinto, M., Gulsrud, N. M., Maurer, M. L., & Collier, M. (2025). Let
it grow wild! A more-than-One-Health perspective for wild spaces in cities. Cities & Health. Advance
online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2025.2520112
Duray, C., Gulsrud, N. M., Rodriguez Castañeda, N., Šupová, A., Trüper, T., Maurer, M., & Burgos-
Thorsen, S. (2025). Exploring Perceptions of Meaningful Natures in Nordhavn. Baseline Report.
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15657571
Rodriguez-Castañeda, N. (2025, December 18). One-planetary-health: Reflections on urban novel
ecosystems in Bogotá and Copenhagen. Seeing the Woods. Rachel Carson Centre, Ludwig-
Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany. https://seeingthewoods.org/2025/12/18/one-planetary-
health/
