Resilient Futures Podcast

Big, leafy shade trees, burbling creeks, and access to recreation in beautiful natural areas: most people intuitively know that these kinds of natural amenities create pleasant communities, and houses located close to these kinds of resources tend to sell for more than those without. What folks often aren't thinking about is the fact that these resources have other benefits too--including filtering stormwater, sequestering carbon, and cooling neighborhoods. But how can we use policy to help encourage developers to adopt these policies from the start? And how can policy backfire in helping create equitably distributed natural resources for communities? Michael Drescher, Associate Professor in the School of Planning and Adam Skoyles, PhD student at the University of Waterloo, joined host Alysha Helmrich to discuss these questions and more. Drescher is the Director of the Residential Development Impact Scorecard for the Environment (RISE) project, which "Aims to better understand the longer-term impacts of urban residential developments on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and seeks to measure the effectiveness of GHG mitigation efforts of green infrastructure." Learn more about how RISE is working to help institute permanent changes in the development sector through their scorecard on the podcast!

Lauren McPhillips didn't always dream of being a professor, but she knew she loved solving problems.After earning three degrees in Earth systems science and environmental engineering at Cornell University, McPhillips completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Arizona State University, where she met our host Alysha. Now, she's working on ecological and water resources engineering problems from green stormwater infrastructure to solar implementation. In her position as a researcher and assistant professor at Penn State's Institute for Energy & the Environment, she studies how best to implement solar power across ecosystems while preserving ecosystem services in proposed solar fields.Solar farms get a lot of pushback due to their potential to interrupt ecosystems, whether they're just taking up important habitat space or actually causing harm through increased erosion or stormwater runoff. But McPhillips argues that, when done carefully, solar power could be just the nature-positive energy solution we need.Lauren's Haiku:Solar energyCan keep nature's benefitsCould be a win-winGuest Bio: https://iee.psu.edu/people/lauren-mcphillipsMcPhillips' Lab Website: https://sites.psu.edu/lmcphillips/

Water is a natural resource all of us rely on, but there's a lot of thought and work that goes into being able to turn on your tap. How do we make sure water is accessible to everyone? Who does a water source belong to? And why is getting water out West so complicated?This month, hosts Alysha and Todd are joined by Dr. Ben Rachunok, an assistant professor at the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University. Rachunok studies how communities evaluate and respond to water rights, climate risk and natural hazards. Costs of water and climate action are not equally distributed across space, and low-income households often pay a higher price for water access- and during periods of water scarcity.With examples from the Carolinas to California, the group explores the surprising interconnections in the world of water rights and affordability, the role of policy in risk management, and how at-risk communities manage climate threats.Check out the recent paper they discuss in this episode: Socio-hydrological drought impacts on urban water affordability (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-022-00009-w)And this "companion paper" for more context: The unequal burdens of water scarcity (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-022-00016-x)Ben's haiku:Droughts raise water's priceLow-income homes bear the costThirst deepens the gapBio: https://ise.ncsu.edu/people/barachun/

Introducing Dr. Brian Bledsoe, Director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Georgia and farmer, guitar player, and dad (not in that order.)Our hosts Alysha Helmrich and Todd Bridges join Bledsoe in reviewing his lifelong commitment to research and interdisciplinary collaboration. His career has largely focused on river management and hydrology, leading him to work not just with engineers but ecologists, economists, geologists, lawyers and more. When he proposed a new institute at UGA focusing on natural solutions for infrastructure problems, he found a large community of interest that confirmed just how critical interdisciplinary expertise was for resilience. Bledsoe described the "tremendous potential" nature-based solutions have to change how we approach development. His own mission in the movement is "to act as a connector of people who are committed to rethinking infrastructure." IRIS itself is meant to adapt to needs of the researchers, stakeholders and students that comprise it, but Bledsoe hopes that the institute can act as a lighthouse for natural infrastructure solutions. He explains how IRIS is promoting this work for their large community of students and partners, and calls on practitioners of the IRIS mission to be "relentless listeners," sharing knowledge while learning from others. Listen now to learn more about IRIS's ongoing work on nature-based solutions!Brian's poems:When in doubt,Don’t just build it stout-Spread it out!Bend, don’t breakHard and strong will failGreen sapling.Dr. Brian Bledsoe, UGA IRIS: https://iris.uga.edu/iris-people/brian-bledsoe-p-e/ Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems: https://iris.uga.edu/IRIS's new Natural Infrastructure Certificate: https://iris.uga.edu/natural-infrastructure-certificate/ASCE's statement on NbS: https://www.asce.org/advocacy/policy-statements/ps575---nature-based-solutionsIRIS's NbS Job Board: https://iris.uga.edu/the-iris-job-board/Check out this past episode that also discusses interdisciplinary resilience: https://iris.uga.edu/2023/11/15/resilient-futures-podcast-episode-2-promoting-resilience-interdisciplinary-expertise-and-collaboration/

This month, our host Alysha Helmrich and her guest Lynn Abdouni are coming to you live from halfway across the world.This pair of UGA engineering professors recently visited Doha, Qatar for a meeting about the Proactive Resilience Plan (PReP), a collaboration between UGA, Texas A&M, and the Qatar Foundation. During their trip, they took a moment to chat about urban morphology: "the study of the buildings, the streets, and the spaces in between them.""We're talking about the urban fabric- it's alive," Dr. Abdouni said. "The streets are for walking, but they're also for meandering to shop, for having impromptu conversations, for chasing after pigeons- whatever you want to do, it's for multiple uses."Abdouni's interest in this topic started early. She grew up in a semi-rural area of a postwar Lebanon, and noticing where features like sidewalks were (or weren't) placed inspired her to connect to places through urban design. By designing public spaces with humans in mind, we can foster personal connections to place and more flexible, long-lasting cities. "I'm obsessed with anything mundane and boring- gas stations, take me there; parking lots, I love them- anything boring," she said. "You take some of these mundane places where we spend a lot of time, and you start thinking about them as, 'what else could this be?'"Listen now to hear all the thoughts, feelings, and even some controversial takes on urban design, such as the correct parking-spots-per-bowling-lane ratio and why the San Antonio Riverwalk is the best riverwalk.Lynn's Haiku (co-authored by Alysha):Flex the space, anewHuman is the center, now:Past, future, combined.Lynn's other poem, "Urban Morphology: A Checklist":Urban morphology, a checklist:Flex, humanize, imagine.Links:Dr. Lynn Abdouni: https://engineering.uga.edu/team_member/lynn-abdouni/Dr. Abdouni's new publication, "Bridging the Gap: Morphological Mapping of the Beqaa’s Vernacular Built Environment": https://cpcl.unibo.it/article/view/16887/17779Read more about the Proactive Resilience Plan (PReP): https://research.uga.edu/research-insights/proactive-resilience-plan-prep-an-integrated-framework-applied-to-critical-economic-sectors-bjorn-birgisson/

This month, we're welcoming practitioners from Atlanta Regional Commission: Katherine Zitsch, Deputy COO, and Jon Philipsborn, Climate and Resilience Manager.Regional commissions work on many subject areas across a metropolitan area, from community development and transportation to water security and climate change. At ARC, resilience is a key defining factor in how they make decisions around all of these topics and more. In this episode, hosts Alysha and Todd and their guests discuss how ARC is helping Atlanta tackle big development questions, challenges and opportunities.The group also tackles larger questions like the role of government, specifically local governments, in engineering and environmental decisions, as well as specific projects ARC is working on to solve problems and build relationships across Atlanta."What's interesting about resilience is that everybody comes at it differently. Every city is in a different space, and every county is in a different space, and what we're trying to do at ARC is leverage the ones that are ahead towards helping the ones that are interested, but haven't had the space to get there yet."Both guests also responded to our usual request for a haiku about their episode's subject matter, despite some debate about syllables...Katherine's poem:Atlanta's futureKnitting our resilienceBridges to new pathsJon's poem:Disasters happenOur choices influence the impactFuture is openLearn more about Atlanta Regional Commission here.

This month, anthropologist and historian Dr. Eric Cline and USACE research social scientist Dr. Ben Trump come together with hosts Alysha and Todd to explore large-scale regional destabilization and collapse in the Late Bronze Age.Around 1200 B.C., an interconnected network of eight large, thriving civilizations collapsed in a matter of decades. Dr.s Cline and Trump wanted to explore how this collapse came about, whether the civilizations could have predicted or prevented it, and what resilience strategies some of these civilizations exhibited."They went down. There's no reason to suspect that we won't as well... It would be absolutely hubristic to think that we would be the first ones that are immune from that."We promise it's not all that ominous. Listen to learn more about what these researchers describe as a "poly-crisis," and how we can learn from it today to be more resilient to environmental, economic and social disturbances, and how recovery from collapse takes place.Dr. Eric Cline, Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and of Anthropology; Director of the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute: https://cnelc.columbian.gwu.edu/eric-h-cline Dr. Ben Trump, Research Social Scientist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-trump-ba062523 Check out the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378023001589/pdfCheck out Dr. Cline's book, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691208015/1177-bcPreorder Dr. Cline's upcoming sequel, After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations, here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691192130/after-1177-bc You can also preorder the graphic novel version of 1177 B.C., coming soon: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691213026/1177-bc Ben's Haiku:   Complexity's cost.   Dependency's brief fragility.   Resilience is key.Eric's Haiku(s):   Bronze realms crumble,   empires fade in twilight's grasp,   ages mourn their fall.   Civilizations wane,   bronze echoes in silent ruins,   time's shadow devours.       Bronze echoes shatter,   civilizations entwine,   silent ruins weep.

This month features a special guest. The Honorable Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, visited UGA for the Southeast Defense Communities Resilience Workshop this week. During her busy visit to Athens, she stopped by to chat with Alysha and Todd about climate resilience in the U.S. Army: on military bases, in outreach projects and construction, and overseeing climate policies.Ms. Jacobson is an experienced environmental lawyer who previously served in the Department of Justice and at private law firms in Washington, D.C. In this episode, she describes the importance of resilience in the military and its projects, and how (and why!) the Army is building a better standard of resilience.Our guest described it best: "It is a national security imperative to maintain resilient installations."Links:Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment: https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2022/04/21/3c9c5f77/hon-rachel-jacobson-s-bio.pdfHelpful links from the ASA (IE&E), including projects and directories: https://www.army.mil/asaiee#org-ie-e-info-links U.S. Army's Climate Strategy: https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/about/2022_army_climate_strategy.pdf U.S. Army's Climate Strategy Implementation Plan: https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/about/2022_Army_Climate_Strategy_Implementation_Plan_FY23-FY27.pdf

Alysha and Todd speak with Marta Berbés-Blázquez and Stephanie Cruz Maysonet from the University of Waterloo about the implementation of Nature-based Solutions in the Global South. NbS research has primarily taken place in the Global North. The group discusses how to build solutions that satisfy the ecological, economic and sociopolitical needs of the Global South. Berbés-Blázquez introduces the idea of "urban labs," spaces for communities to engage in place-based experimentation.  Cruz Maysonet then speaks to practitioners Tischa Muñoz Erickson (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Mercy Borbor-Cordova (Guayaquil and Duran, Ecuador) about their work with communities and project management.Stephanie's Haiku: Stream-facing housesPounded by sudden watersNow a blooming front.Resources:Marta's profileMercy's profileTischa's profileStephanie's profileStephanie's participation was financially supported by the Waterloo Climate Institute. Learn more here: https://uwaterloo.ca/climate-institute/

Alysha and Todd are joined by Kyle McKay (USACE Research Civil Engineer) and Charles van Rees (Conservation Scientist at UGA) to discuss BIODIVERSITY- and spoiler alert, it's a lot bigger than bugs and bunnies.Biodiversity is an ecological concept that can be difficult to quantify but is critical for environmental stability. It's also something that engineers working on nature-based projects have to keep in mind for the creation and restoration of natural infrastructure systems.Kyle's Haiku:Built or natural?IntergenerationalLegacy is key.Charles's Haiku:Safe homes and good health, Butterfly, thistle, finch, fox.Choose both: it's all life.Todd's Haiku:All species on EarthComprise the planet's machinePluck, pull, push, kaputResources:Jointly advancing infrastructure and biodiversity conservationThe potential for nature-based solutions to combat the freshwater biodiversity crisis

On interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting resilience projects and disaster management strategies with Executive Director of ASCE, Tom SmithAlysha Helmrich and Todd Bridges are joined by Tom Smith, Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers, to discuss interdisciplinary collaboration between engineers, policy experts, and environmental managers. The group engages in a detailed discussion of how to promote resilience projects and disaster management strategies. Find the full episode description here. Find links mentioned in the episode below!Pathways to Resilient Communities - Pathways to Resilient Communities (1).pdf (asce.org)ASCE 73 Sustainable Infrastructure Standard - ASCE releases groundbreaking standard for sustainable infrastructure | ASCEASCE-NOAA Workshops and Report - New ASCE-NOAA report details tangible needs, progress toward climate-resilient infrastructure | ASCEASCE Future World Vision - Home | Future World VisionASCE INSPIRE Conference - Home | ASCE INSPIRE 2023ASCE 7 Supplement - New addition to the ASCE/SEI 7-22 Standard protects buildings from a 500-year flood event | ASCEASCE Report Card - America's Infrastructure Report Card 2021 | GPA: C-ASCE Code of Ethics - Code of Ethics | ASCEG20 Policy Brief - T20_PolicyBrief_TF3_-Investments-Climate-Resilient-Infrastructure.pdf (orfonline.org)Plot Points Podcast and new ASCE Book - The infrastructure system resilience big picture starts with incremental progress | ASCE

Join co-hosts Dr. Alysha Helmrich and Dr. Todd Bridges as they introduce themselves and the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, reintroduce the show, and try to define resilience! (Previously named the Future Cities podcast -- same content, new branding!)

Academic research, no matter how scientific, can be deeply personal. Pursuing a PhD in a field like urban resilience demands an unwavering dedication to the topic driven by a genuine care for the issues at hand. While this passion can help motivate scholars, it is practically very difficult to bring one’s full self into academic endeavors, even when an institution explicitly recognizes that individuals’ unique perspectives and experiences can enrich their research and shed new light on complex problems. In this episode, Madison Horgan (PhD student, Arizona State University) interviews fellow ASU scholars Dr. Michele Clark and Taína Diaz-Reyes (PhD student) about how programs such as ASU’s Earth Systems Science for the Anthropocene Graduate Scholars Network (ESSA) can help create safe spaces for researchers, especially black, Indigenous, and people of color, who have unique and incredibly important perspectives on resilience and science, to bring their whole selves to their research.Cultivating safe spaces for reflection and learning is especially important when working on place-based solutions alongside communities. Recognizing that urban resilience is not a one-size-fits-all concept, some scholars will partner with local communities to develop contextually relevant strategies. Solutions that are tailored to the specific challenges, needs, and aspirations of a particular community hold the potential for more meaningful and sustainable impact. However, to do this work well, researchers must learn how to ask the right questions to understand the nuances of each context and identify the most pressing issues that need to be addressed. Asking the right questions involves engaging with community members, stakeholders, and experts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interconnected factors that contribute to urban resilience. Further, we discuss what it means to use the term “solutions” in the context of wicked challenges.Follow our guests on Twitter!@ESSA_ASU, @ MicheleDClark1, and @Tai_rannosaurus---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Urban green infrastructure has the ability to make cities more sustainable. However, the exact implementation of green infrastructure and the choices that must be made during implementation are still topics for discussion. Recently, the Consolidated Urban Green Infrastructure Classification (CUGIC) was published as a tool to help policymakers, practitioners and researchers assess the state of their urban green infrastructure relevant to urban biodiversity, human well-being, and ecosystem services. In this podcast, Joeri Morpurgo (Leiden University), Dirk Voets (Head remote sensing, Cobra-Groeninzicht), Ciska van Alphen (Policy officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality), and Jacco Schuurkamp (Senior policy officer, Municipality The Hague) discuss the challenges and opportunities for implementing green infrastructure and how CUGIC helps!Follow our guests on Twitter!@DirkVoets, @JoeriMorpurgo @UniLeidenNews and @MultiGreen3.---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

On this month's episode of the Future Cities Podcast, Dr. Alysha Helmrich hosts Dr. Virginia Smith, who explores the future of urban hydrology. She covers a lot of ground! From the magnitude of flood impacts, the differences between hydrology and urban hydrology, the stakeholders in urban flooding, data collection and management for stormwater, integration of AI in stormwater management, and social vulnerability and equity. Tune in to hear all the details!Of note, Virginia is hiring students! You can reach out directly via email or apply online at: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/engineering/faculty-research/Resilient-Water-Systems.htmlRelevant Links to Research Articles:https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1038/s41598-020-65232-5.pdfhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1752-1688.12656https://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000945https://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000958https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000986https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-23214-9Follow our guest on Twitter!@VCRWSteam---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

On this month's episode of the Future Cities podcast, Alysha Helmrich interviews her colleague, Katherine (Kat) Shayne. Kat Shayne is the CEO of Can I Recycle This? (CIRT). A start-up homed in Athens, GA that helps cities, counties, businesses, and individuals properly dispose of products. Kat shares her own journey in sustainability that led her to creating CIRT and describes CIRT's mission and goals. You can learn more about CIRT at www.cirt.tech. You can also learn more about the Circularity Informatics Lab at https://www.circularityinformatics.org/.Follow our guest on Twitter!@CanIRecycleThis@KatherineShayne---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dr. Catherine de Rivera leads a conversation with Carole Hardy and Eric Butler.  They dive into the social, ecological, and technological aspects of connectivity with an emphasis on the benefits of ecological connectivity. This podcast is rooted in work co-produced with researchers and practitioners from Portland, Oregon. This episode also features Sahan T. M. Dissanayake, Leslie Bliss-Ketchum, Jennifer Karps, and Lori Hennings. Referenced Articles:Butler 2022Hardy 2022---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dynamic Criticality is the idea that organizations must constantly reform their priorities in the face of volatile environments to maintain an adaptive state. Infrastructure research has yet to identify competencies that might aid infrastructure organizations in achieving dynamic criticality. Ryan Hoff discusses how competencies from other organizations can inform how infrastructure managers can better prepare their organizations to shift priorities in the face of disturbances.--Suggested Readings:Dynamic Criticality article Susan Clark’s workMikhail Chester’s governance workMikhail Chester’s autopoiesis workBook rec: The Black Swan by TalebFollow our guest on Twitter: @RyanMHoff---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Pervasive across infrastructure literature and discourse are the concepts of centralized, decentralized, and distributed systems, and there appears to be growing interest in how these configurations support or hinder adaptive and transformative capacities towards resilience. There does not appear to be a concerted effort to align how these concepts are used, and what different configurations mean for infrastructure systems. This is problematic because how infrastructure are structured and governed directly affects their capabilities to respond to increasing complexity. Dr. Alysha Helmrich recommends a multi-dimensional framing of de/centralization through a network-governance perspective where capabilities to shift between stability and instability are paramount and information is a critical mediator.Articles:De/centralization - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac0a4fLeadership - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.791474/full Follow our guest on Twitter: @AlyshaHelmrich---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dr. Christina H. Fuller shares her work on environmental health and justice, particularly examining how air quality varies down to a block-level across communities. She provides insights on conducting participatory research within frontline communities and advocating for more inclusive environmental justice research. Dr. Fuller also discusses her diverse work experiences from industry, non-profits, consulting, and academia.Follow our guest on Twitter: @DrCHFuller ---If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.