His research is focused on ecosystem services, land use change, urbanization, natural disturbances and components of resilience including the role of social institutions.

He has led the UN-initiated global project “Cities and Biodiversity Outlook” and more recently the Future Earth Project Urban Planet.

He currently serves as Editor-in-chief for the Nature Research journal npj Urban Sustainability, and as associate editor for the journals Sustainability Science, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability and Global Sustainability.

He was awarded the Biodiversa 2018 prize for excellence in science and impact, and the Ecological Society of America 2019 prize for best paper in “Sustainability Science”.