Schell, Christopher J.; Dyson, Karen; Fuentes, Tracy L.; Des Roches, Simone; Harris, Nyeema C.; Miller, Danica Sterud; Woelfle-Erskine, Cleo A.; Lambert, Max R. (2020). The Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Systemic Racism in Urban Environments. Science, 369(6510), 1446.
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Abstract
Urban areas are dynamic ecological systems defined by interdependent biological, physical, and social components. The emergent structure and heterogeneity of urban landscapes drives biotic outcomes in these areas, and such spatial patterns are often attributed to the unequal stratification of wealth and power in human societies. Despite these patterns, few studies have effectively considered structural inequalities as drivers of ecological and evolutionary outcomes and have instead focused on indicator variables such as neighborhood wealth. In this analysis, we explicitly integrate ecology, evolution, and social processes to emphasize the relationships that bind social inequities-specifically racism-and biological change in urbanized landscapes. We draw on existing research to link racist practices, including residential segregation, to the heterogeneous patterns of flora and fauna observed by urban ecologists. In the future, urban ecology and evolution researchers must consider how systems of racial oppression affect the environmental factors that drive biological change in cities. Conceptual integration of the social and ecological sciences has amassed considerable scholarship in urban ecology over the past few decades, providing a solid foundation for incorporating environmental justice scholarship into urban ecological and evolutionary research. Such an undertaking is necessary to deconstruct urbanization's biophysical patterns and processes, inform equitable and anti-racist initiatives promoting justice in urban conservation, and strengthen community resilience to global environmental change.
Keywords
New-york; Climate-change; Land-cover; Socioeconomic-status; Ecosystem Services; Oxidative Stress; Green Spaces; Gene Flow; Justice; Cities
Cuo, Lan; Beyene, Tazebe K.; Voisin, Nathalie; Su, Fengge; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.; Alberti, Marina; Richey, Jeffrey E. (2011). Effects of Mid-Twenty-first Century Climate and Land Cover Change on the Hydrology Of the Puget Sound Basin, Washington. Hydrological Processes, 25(11), 1729 – 1753.
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Abstract
The distributed hydrology-soil-vegetation model (DHSVM) was used to study the potential impacts of projected future land cover and climate change on the hydrology of the Puget Sound basin, Washington, in the mid-twenty-first century. A 60-year climate model output, archived for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), was statistically downscaled and used as input to DHSVM. From the DHSVM output, we extracted multi-decadal averages of seasonal streamflow, annual maximum flow, snow water equivalent (SWE), and evapotranspiration centred around 2030 and 2050. Future land cover was represented by a 2027 projection, which was extended to 2050, and DHSVM was run (with current climate) for these future land cover projections. In general, the climate change signal alone on sub-basin streamflow was evidenced primarily through changes in the timing of winter and spring runoff, and slight increases in the annual runoff. Runoff changes in the uplands were attributable both to climate (increased winter precipitation, less snow) and land cover change (mostly reduced vegetation maturity). The most climatically sensitive parts of the uplands were in areas where the current winter precipitation is in the rain-snow transition zone. Changes in land cover were generally more important than climate change in the lowlands, where a substantial change to more urbanized land use and increased runoff was predicted. Both the annual total and seasonal distribution of freshwater flux to Puget Sound are more sensitive to climate change impacts than to land cover change, primarily because most of the runoff originates in the uplands. Both climate and land cover change slightly increase the annual freshwater flux to Puget Sound. Changes in the seasonal distribution of freshwater flux are mostly related to climate change, and consist of double-digit increases in winter flows and decreases in summer and fall flows. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords
Joaquin River-basin; Water-resources; Change Impacts; Model; Sensitivity; Temperature; Prediction; Streamflow; Forecasts; Humidity; Hydrologic Prediction; Climate Change Impacts; Land Cover Change Impacts
Alberti, Marina; Correa, Cristian; Marzluff, John M.; Hendry, Andrew P.; Palkovacs, Eric P.; Gotanda, Kiyoko M.; Hunt, Victoria M.; Apgar, Travis M.; Zhou, Yuyu. (2017). Global Urban Signatures of Phenotypic Change in Animal and Plant Populations. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 114(34), 8951 – 8956.
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Abstract
Humans challenge the phenotypic, genetic, and cultural makeup of species by affecting the fitness landscapes on which they evolve. Recent studies show that cities might play a major role in contemporary evolution by accelerating phenotypic changes in wildlife, including animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms. Many studies of ecoevolutionary change have focused on anthropogenic drivers, but none of these studies has specifically examined the role that urbanization plays in ecoevolution or explicitly examined its mechanisms. This paper presents evidence on the mechanisms linking urban development patterns to rapid evolutionary changes for species that play important functional roles in communities and ecosystems. Through a metaanalysis of experimental and observational studies reporting more than 1,600 phenotypic changes in species across multiple regions, we ask whether we can discriminate an urban signature of phenotypic change beyond the established natural baselines and other anthropogenic signals. We then assess the relative impact of five types of urban disturbances including habitat modifications, biotic interactions, habitat heterogeneity, novel disturbances, and social interactions. Our study shows a clear urban signal; rates of phenotypic change are greater in urbanizing systems compared with natural and nonurban anthropogenic systems. By explicitly linking urban development to traits that affect ecosystem function, we can map potential ecoevolutionary implications of emerging patterns of urban agglomerations and uncover insights for maintaining key ecosystem functions upon which the sustainability of human wellbeing depends.
Keywords
Phenotypes; Plant Populations; Animal Populations; Biological Evolution; Ecosystems; Urbanization; Sustainability; Anthropocene; Ecoevolution; Ecosystem Function; Modern Life; Evolutionary; Patterns; Ecology; Rates; Disturbance; Dynamics; Traits; Pace; Studies; Genotype & Phenotype; Sustainable Development; Anthropogenic Factors; Fitness; Human Influences; Urban Areas; Urban Development; Species; Disturbances; Wildlife; Fungi; Wildlife Habitats; Social Interactions; Social Factors; Plants (botany); Landscape
Jung, Meen Chel; Park, Jaewoo; Kim, Sunghwan. (2019). Spatial Relationships between Urban Structures and Air Pollution in Korea. Sustainability, 11(2).
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Abstract
Urban structures facilitate human activities and interactions but are also a main source of air pollutants; hence, investigating the relationship between urban structures and air pollution is crucial. The lack of an acceptable general model poses significant challenges to investigations on the underlying mechanisms, and this gap fuels our motivation to analyze the relationships between urban structures and the emissions of four air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and two types of particulate matter, in Korea. We first conduct exploratory data analysis to detect the global and local spatial dependencies of air pollutants and apply Bayesian spatial regression models to examine the spatial relationship between each air pollutant and urban structure covariates. In particular, we use population, commercial area, industrial area, park area, road length, total land surface, and gross regional domestic product per person as spatial covariates of interest. Except for park area and road length, most covariates have significant positive relationships with air pollutants ranging from 0 to 1, which indicates that urbanization does not result in a one-to-one negative influence on air pollution. Findings suggest that the government should consider the degree of urban structures and air pollutants by region to achieve sustainable development.
Keywords
Land-use Regression; Particulate Matter Concentrations; Nitrogen-dioxide; Temporal Variations; Smart City; Quality; Health; Pm10; Fine; Pollutants; Urban Structure; Air Pollution; Moran's I; Bayesian Spatial Model; Motivation; Population; Urbanization; Nitrogen Oxides; Urban Structures; Emissions; Regression Analysis; Regression Models; Sulfur; Spatial Dependencies; Environmental Impact; Outdoor Air Quality; Metropolitan Areas; Economic Growth; Photochemicals; Industrial Areas; Urban Areas; Industrial Plant Emissions; Particulate Emissions; Particulate Matter; Data Analysis; Bayesian Analysis; Sustainable Development; Sulfur Oxides; Regions; Mathematical Models; Cities; China
Shang, Luming; Lee, Hyun Woo; Dermisi, Sofia; Choe, Youngjun. (2020). Impact of Energy Benchmarking and Disclosure Policy on Office Buildings. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 250.
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Abstract
Building energy benchmarking policies require owners to publicly disclose their building's energy performance. In the US, the adoption of such policies is contributing to an increased awareness among tenants and buyers and is expected to motivate the owners of less efficient buildings to invest in energy efficiency improvements. However, there is a lack of studies specifically aimed at investigating the impact of such policies on office buildings among major cities through quantitative analyses. In response, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the benchmarking policy on energy efficiency improvements decision-making and on real estate performances, by applying two interrupted time series analyses to office buildings in downtown Chicago. The initial results indicate a lack of statistically strong evidence that the policy affected the annual vacancy trend of the energy efficient buildings (represented by ENERGY STAR labeled buildings). However, the use of interrupted time series in a more in-depth analysis shows that the policy is associated with a 6.7% decrease in vacancy among energy efficient buildings. The study proposed a method to quantitatively evaluate the impact of energy policies on the real estate performance of office buildings, and the result confirms the positive impact of energy-efficient retrofits on the real estate performance. The study findings support the reasoning behind the owners' decision in implementing energy efficiency improvements in their office buildings to remain competitive in the market. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Office Buildings; Building Failures; Time Series Analysis; Real Property; Energy Consumption; Metropolis; Building Performance; Chicago (ill.); Building Energy Benchmarking And Disclosure Policies; Building Energy Efficiency; Time Series Modeling; Energy Star (program); Building Management Systems; Buildings (structures); Decision Making; Energy Conservation; Maintenance Engineering; Time Series; Disclosure Policy; Energy Benchmarking Policies; Building; Benchmarking Policy; Energy Efficiency Improvements Decision-making; Estate Performance; Energy Efficient Buildings; Energy Star; Energy Policies; Energy-efficient Retrofits; Interrupted Time-series; Regression; Behavior; Designs; Building Energy Benchmarking And; Disclosure Policies; Buildings; Cities; Energy Efficiency; Energy Policy; Markets; Quantitative Analysis; United States
The EarthLab Innovations Grant Program was launched in 2019 to fund actionable environmental research. The 2022-23 EarthLab Innovation Grants program received 33 high-quality proposals for research at the intersection of climate change and social justice. One awarded project titled, “Centering Place and Community to Address Climate Change and Social Justice” was led by P.I. Daniel Abramson, Associate Professor of Urban Design & Planning and Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, and Community Lead, Jamie Judkins, of the Shoalwater…
ARPA-E announced $5 million in funding to two universities—the University of Washington and University of California, Davis—working to develop life cycle assessment tools and frameworks associated with transforming buildings into net carbon storage structures. The funding is part of the Harnessing Emissions into Structures Taking Inputs from the Atmosphere (HESTIA) Exploratory Topic. Parametric Open Data for Life Cycle Assessment (POD | LCA) – $3,744,303 The University of Washington’s Carbon Leadership Forum will develop a rigorous and flexible parametric Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)…
The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced the award of 11 Tier 1 pilot grants to teams representing researchers from nine different UW schools and colleges as well as UW Tacoma and numerous community-based partners. The collective value of these 11 awards was nearly $480,000, which included approximately $270,000 in funding from the initiative plus additional school, college and departmental matching funds. Among the award recipients was a project titled “Amazonian Green Cities: A Gardens Program for Health Ecology and…
Research Interests: Urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, climate change, community engagement.
Research Interests: Urban Sustainability Indicators, Small Island Developing States, Climate Change, Natural Resource Management, Urban Design.