This research addresses the question, "What is the relationship between environmental rehabilitation and urban revitalization?" More specifically, this research investigates the relationships between 1) urban sustainability policies, investments, and outcomes; 2) drivers of urbanization; and 3) long-term dynamics of urban residential neighborhoods. Three inter-related themes will be used to examine these relationships: a) urban forests and open space, b) environmental quality, and c) vector-borne diseases. These research themes are contextualized in a framework that considers vulnerability to climate change and environmental justice. To answer these questions, this research addresses several types of opportunities for theoretical advance in understanding urban systems. Traditional social analysis incorporates several "push-pull" factors such as crime, poor government services, and high taxes; expensive and deteriorating housing; small building lots, and racial tension; but there is little emphasis on environmental parameters. This project introduces a novel approach to push-pull driver analysis by incorporating environmental parameters, particularly at a fine resolution. In addition to examining long-term, social-ecological push-pull changes over time, this project explores the utility of a panarchy approach for understanding the relationship between environmental rehabilitation and urban revitalization at the neighborhood level. This project examines the dynamic understanding of neighborhood change from one phase to another: What causes neighborhoods to decline? What causes neighborhoods to reorganize, revitalize, and prosper? Dimensions of change are also examined. A focus on slow and fast changing variables and attention to both change and persistence correspond to an interest in types and rates of change. Numerous types of data and analyses will be employed, including hi-resolution, remotely sensed data, long-term Census data, parcel-level cadastral data, key-informant surveys, water and air sampling, and micro-habitat analysis. In addition to these data and analyses, three workshops - one for each research theme - bring together all of the members of the DC-BC ULTRA community. These workshops develop a Community of Practice that coalesces around the idea of just, sustainable cities and provides opportunities for interactions among constituencies and communication about research findings with multiple groups.
This project adopts a fully integrated research-education-outreach model that includes researchers, students, and decision-makers. Researchers and managers collaborate in a full research-application cycle: a) identify questions, b) collect new data and share existing data, c) analyze data, d) interpret results, e) apply findings, and f) identify new questions. Students are engaged in relevant content through coursework and continue to work on the project through paid fellowships, internships, and capstone or thesis projects. Students are recruited from classes and across the DC Consortium and universities in the Baltimore region to apply for paid ULTRA research fellowships. ULTRA Fellows work directly with researchers and managers on projects, attend ULTRA workshops, and contribute to manuscripts. The broad array of opportunities in the natural and social sciences and from basic research to applied internships are designed to attract a diverse student group and diverse set of interests.
In this project we asked, "What is the relationship between environmental rehabilitation and urban revitalization?" We investigated the relationships between urban sustainability policies, investments, and outcomes; and long-term dynamics of urban residential neighborhoods. We conducted this research by supporting undergraduate and graduate research fellowships and hosting collaborative workshops. Research resulted in a publication recommending a market-like analysis of neighborhoods to better match planting initiatives to particular neighborhoods’ motivations, capacities and interests in order to improve the adoption of improved urban forestry practices. Communicating these findings to practitioners may aid in cities acheiving their urban forest canopy goals. Social network analysis suggested the number of organizations and the number of ties between them correlated signi?cantly with the percentage of tree canopy in Baltimore neighborhoods. These findings contribute to the nascent ?eld of urban environmental stewardship, and thus results are discussed in relation to their ability to inform future research. Our work on disease transmission focused on mosquitos in urban areas. We measured public understanding of mosquito life cycle, ecology, and control. The findings resulted in a public education program focused on improving understanding on how individuals can impact mosquito control through small actions around their home. Our project supported several curricular innovations at the undergraduate education level, including interdisciplinary field experiences, community-based research, and action-oriented classroom research. In addition, this project provided research training opportunities for PhD students and dozens of undergraduate students. In addition, the project developed and taught two university-level courses that reached 25 undergraduate and 15 graduate students.