BiographyChrisna du Plessis has been working in the field of sustainable human settlement since 1996. Currently she is concentrating on urban sustainability science at both a theoretical and technological level. Her main focus is the development of transdisciplinary research programmes that follow a complex systems approach to the development of human settlements as sustainable social-ecological systems. Until 2006 her work focused on the evaluation and development of policy on the development of sustainable human settlements within developing countries, with a particular focus on building and construction. During this time she prepared the Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries for UNEP and CIB and provided input into several national and international policy and strategy initiatives on sustainability, including the Earth Charter.She studied architecture at the University of Pretoria, obtained a PhD in Urban Sustainability Science from the University of Salford, UK, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in technology from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. After working as Principal Researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa for twelve years, she has recently resigned, taking a sabbatical to focus on writing a book and explore new opportunities.