Sonia Olivia Muhammad

Sonia Olivia Muhammad is a designer, researcher, and strategist whose work bridges cultural heritage, land use, and regenerative spatial practice. As Land Use Planner and Feasibility Specialist at The Emerge Group, she helps communities navigate complex regulatory systems to reclaim land and advance equitable development. Her work integrates biophilic principles and collective memory to support placesaving and sustain hyper-local cultural practices within landscapes shaped by ongoing spatial injustices. Previously, she worked at a social justice–focused landscape design studio examining how discriminatory policies contribute to racial wealth disparities and supporting community-led development in historically Black corridors. She holds a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainability from Georgia Tech and a master’s in Urban Planning and Policy Design from Politecnico di Milano, where she deepened her approach to balancing preservation, land ethics, and future growth.