A5019464650- Sustainability and Climate Change Governance
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Complex Systems and Decision Making
- Disaster Management and Resilience
- Phosphorus and nutrient management
- Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Urban Green Space and Health
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Sustainable Building Design and Assessment
- Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Regional resilience and development
- Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy
- Smart Cities and Technologies
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Water resources management and optimization
- Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
- Urban Planning and Valuation
- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis
- Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Urban Heat Island Mitigation
Georgia State University
2016-2024
Arizona State University
2011-2019
Florida International University
2006
The risk presented by pluvial flooding has emerged as a critical issue in urban water management. Pluvial occurs when precipitation intensity exceeds the capacity of natural and engineered drainage systems, it is expected to increase frequency, severity impact through 21st century due combined effects climate change urbanization. Although there have been recent advances approaches assess enhance resilience cities its impacts, they not broadly implemented are many opportunities for additional...
Abstract Traditional infrastructure adaptation to extreme weather events (and now climate change) has typically been techno‐centric and heavily grounded in robustness—the capacity prevent or minimize disruptions via a risk‐based approach that emphasizes control, armoring, strengthening (e.g., raising the height of levees). However, nonclimate challenges facing are not purely technological. Ecological social systems also warrant consideration manage issues overconfidence, inflexibility,...
As urban populations continue to grow through the 21st century, more people are projected be at risk of exposure climate change-induced extreme events. To investigate complexity floods, this study applied an interlinked social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) vulnerability framework by developing flood index for six US cities. Indicators were selected reflect and illustrate exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity flooding each three domains SETS. We quantified 18 indicators...
As rates of urbanization and climatic change soar, decision-makers are increasingly challenged to provide innovative solutions that simultaneously address climate impacts risks inclusively ensure quality life for urban residents. Cities have turned nature-based help these challenges. Nature-based solutions, through the provision ecosystem services, can yield numerous benefits people multiple challenges simultaneously. Yet, efforts mainstream impaired by complexity interacting social,...
Urbanization continues to be a transformative process globally, affecting ecosystem integrity and the health well being of people around world. Although cities tend centers for both production consumption goods services that degrade natural environments, there is also evidence urban ecosystems can play positive role in sustainability efforts. Despite fact most urbanization now occurring developing countries Global South, much what we know about has been developed from studying United States...
Scenarios are a tool to develop plausible, coherent visions about the future and foster anticipatory knowledge. We present Sustainable Future (SFS) framework demonstrate its application through Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) urban site. The SFS approach emphasizes co-development of positive long-term alternative visions. Through collaboration practitioner academic stakeholders, this research integrates participatory scenario development, modeling,...
Scenario development helps people think about a broad variety of possible futures; however, the global environmental change community has thus far developed few positive scenarios for future planet and humanity. Those that have been tend to focus on role common, large-scale external drivers, such as technology or policy, even though pathways are often driven by surprising bottom-up initiatives most assume unchanging. We describe an approach, pioneered in Southern Africa tested here new...
Urban resilience has gained considerable popularity in planning and policy to address cities' capacity cope with climate change. While many studies discuss the different ways that academics define resilience, little attention been given how is conceptualized across urban contexts among actors engage building 'on ground'. Given implications frames can have for solutions are pursued (and who benefits from them), it important examine transformative definitions of practice. In this paper, we use...
Ecosystem-services scholarship has largely focused on monetary valuation and the material contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. Increasingly, research is calling for a deeper understanding how less tangible, nonmaterial values shape management stakeholder decisions. We propose framework that characterizes suite sociocultural phenomena rooted in key social science disciplines are currently underrepresented ecosystem-services literature. The results from three example studies...
Abstract Our urban systems and their underlying sub-systems are designed to deliver only a narrow set of human-centered services, with little or no accounting understanding how actions undercut the resilience social-ecological-technological (SETS). Embracing SETS perspective creates opportunities for novel approaches adaptation transformation in complex environments. We: i) frame through shift from control entanglement, ii) position thinking as sensemaking create repertoires responses...
As urban environments dominate the landscape, we need to examine how limiting nutrients such as phosphorus (P) cycle in these novel ecosystems. Sustainable management of P resources is necessary ensure global food security and minimize freshwater pollution. We used a spatially explicit budget quantify pools fluxes Greater Phoenix Area Arizona, USA, using boundaries Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research site. Inputs were dominated by direct imports fertilizer for local...
Abstract Governance is key to sustainable urban transitions. a system of social, power, and decision‐making processes that acts as driver resource allocation use, yet ecologists—even ecologists–seldom consider governance concepts in their work. Transitions more futures are becoming increasingly important the management many ecosystems landscapes, particularly so for systems. We briefly identify synthesize dimensions sustainability transitions, using illustrations from cities which long‐term...
Transformational change is not always intentional. However, deliberate transformations are imperative to achieve the sustainable visions that future generations deserve. Small, unintentional tweaks will be enough overcome persistent and emergent urban challenges. Recent scholarship on sustainability has evolved considerably, but there no consensus what qualifies transformational change. We describe variations in current discussions of intentional literature synthesize strategies from funding...
Cities face a number of challenges to ensure that people's well-being and ecosystem integrity are not only maintained but improved for current future generations. Urban planning must account the diverse changing interactions among social, ecological, technological systems (SETS) city. struggle with long-range approaches explore, anticipate, plan sustainability resilience—and scenario development is one way address this need. In paper, we present framework developing what call 'strategic'...
Sustainability visioning—creating descriptions of sustainable and desirable future states—has become a prominent tool in urban planning to guide how cities are structured, they function, governed. In this article, we present the application sustainability visioning approach (SPARC) support City Phoenix's General Plan Update. The study strove overcome deficits current practices, including sufficiently accounting for systems relationships, conflicting values, principles stakeholder input;...
The objective of articulating sustainability visions through modeling is to enhance the outcomes and process visioning in order successfully move system toward a desired state. Models emphasize approaches develop that are viable resilient crafted adhere principles. This approach largely assembled from processes (resulting descriptions desirable future states generated stakeholder values preferences) participatory systems-based representations co-produced by experts stakeholders). Vision...
Flooding occurs at different scales and unevenly affects urban populations based on the broader social, ecological, technological system (SETS) characteristics particular to cities. As hydrological models improve in spatial scale account for more mechanisms of flooding, there is a continuous need examine relationships between flood exposure SETS drivers vulnerability. In this study, we related fine-scale measures future exposure—the First Street Foundation's Flood Factor estimated change...