Recent Projects
Last spring dual M.S./ M.U.P. students Laura Matson, Jen Kullgren, and Parrish Bergquist, as part of a team of SEAS students assessed existing and proposed plans for climate change in cities across the Great Lakes region. The team surveyed community planners about eight critical factors related to climate adaptation and resilience to understand how climate change planning affects urban sustainability. The project also revealed the rationale and decision-making process that community leaders use to develop climate change plans or to ignore the problem. In addition, the group also identified barriers to adaptation that exist in the region.
Recent alumna Emily Chi’s thesis Environmental Justice, Air Quality, and Parks explored the relationship between urban parks, air quality, and socio-economic factors in Portland, Oregon. In her research she considered air quality to be an important component of park quality and used EPA data to understand cancer and respiratory risks in the area. By mapping park areas, air quality, and social data she found that socio-economic factors are related to park access and clean air.
Read more about this project here.
