Talia kertsman

Geographer

Talia is exploring our ecological futures through participatory asset mapping.

Green FUTURES

DISTRICT 2

ABOUT TALIA

Talia is a geographer, researcher, community organizer, and participatory designer with a lifelong fascination with people and physical space. She is drawn to questions of who belongs, who is present, and how space enhances or prohibits connection. Her career sits at the intersection of housing justice, spatial equity, and place-based community building — from implementing a portrait exhibit humanizing unhoused vendors in Seattle, to researching co-housing and care in London, to running community engagement campaigns at the San Francisco Community Land Trust. Raised around a dinner table of educators, scientists, and grassroots leaders from around the world, Talia was shaped early by the belief that the most powerful solutions emerge when diverse perspectives are genuinely centered. She brings expertise in research, youth engagement, event production, and participatory design, and a deep conviction that the future of any city worth living in must be co-created by the full range of people who call it home.

INTERESTS

Spatial Justice, Housing, Urban Life

Vision

Belonging in Space

In a large and complex city that is often dominated by digital technology, it is easy to feel removed from our ecological systems and alone in finding solutions to ecological issues. This activation puts people in conversation where they define the ecological issues they care about and regain a sense of hope and agency about collective solutions. Rather than asking “what’s missing?” we begin with “what do we already have?” to leverage existing strengths to imagine new ecological futures.

Brought to you in partnership with fellows Rebecca Wolfe & Talia Kertsman.