Current Research Projects

Urban Green Space and Park Access in the Phoenix Metro Area

Historically, measures of greenspace access for urban parks have relied on variables such as distance, park count, and greenspace area as proxies for access. However, studies employing these traditional metrics have produced mixed findings regarding disparities in park access across the United States.

In collaboration with Professor Yushim Kim from the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University and doctoral students Youngjae Won and Ji-Eun Kim, I am conducting a study on local park access within the Phoenix metropolitan area. Our analysis leverages SafeGraph’s mobility data to examine residents’ park visit patterns as a novel measure of access. This approach departs from conventional methods by focusing on actual visitation behavior, offering a more nuanced understanding of greenspace accessibility.

Nature-Based Solutions and Green Infrastructure for Climate Change Adaptation at the Local Government Level

In recent years, the effects of climate change have become increasingly visible at the local level, with more frequent and severe weather events intensifying urban flooding. This shift has spurred public managers and planners to play a more active role in helping cities adapt. By adopting and implementing green infrastructure policies and nature-based solutions, cities can become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, benefiting both urban environments and residents alike.

Green infrastructure offers an alternative to traditional gray infrastructure, such as pipes and concrete channels, typically used to divert stormwater away from urban areas to treatment facilities. Under extreme flooding conditions, gray infrastructure can be overwhelmed, leading to property damage and system degradation. In contrast, green infrastructure mimics natural processes to filter and absorb stormwater at its source, reducing the amount entering conventional sewer systems and thereby lowering the risk of overflow events.

In recognition of these benefits, the U.S. Congress enacted the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act in 2019, defining green infrastructure as a suite of practices that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavements, stormwater reuse, and other permeable surfaces to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce runoff into sewer systems or surface waters (Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, 2019). As aging gray infrastructure systems in many U.S. cities approach replacement, public managers are increasingly considering green infrastructure as a substitute or supplement to enhance capacity and resilience.

Nature-based solutions, a related but broader concept, also offer promising pathways for climate adaptation. While green infrastructure focuses primarily on stormwater management, nature-based solutions encompass a wider range of ecosystem-based strategies for urban resilience. I am particularly interested in exploring how local governments can employ these concepts to strengthen their climate adaptation efforts and enhance urban sustainability.

Reference:

Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 115-436, https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ436/PLAW-115publ436.pdf (2019).