Master of Arts, Miami University, 2023, Geography

Resilience planning seeks to respond to and mitigate climate change effects. Such planning can reduce vulnerability and build the capacity to adapt but must take care in addressing issues of equity in the process. To address physical and social vulnerabilities, Charleston, South Carolina has turned to equity and resilience planning. However, these terms can be as ambiguous as they are important. How do planners and stakeholders define and operationalize resilience and equity? How are they integrating equity within both their city plans and the planning process? While scholarly literature and policy increasingly emphasize resilience and equity in theory, more research is needed to understand how cities, particularly coastal cities with significant physical and social vulnerabilities, make sense of these ideas in practice. This thesis uses textual analysis and interviews with stakeholders in resilience planning to understand Charleston's evolving approaches to vulnerability and equity in the planning process, culminating in a system-wide, integrative City Plan. Additionally, this research looks at the breadth of equity built into Charleston's City Plan. While Charleston has been consistent in defining and addressing the issues impacting the city, continued and deepened integration of equity within the planning process may strengthen the city's adaptive and overall resilience.

Committee: David Prytherch (Advisor); Mary Henry (Committee Member); Amélie Davis (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Justice; Geography; Land Use Planning; Sustainability; Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2016, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Climate change is one of the most daunting problems of our time requiring innovative responses to its causes and consequences. In the United States, the long absence of strong federal leadership along with growing public awareness of the problem created a fertile ground for state-level climate action planning. To date, 34 states have adopted Climate Action Plans (CAPs). The question that this study addresses is: Does state-level climate action have the potential to reduce carbon emissions significantly? This question was examined by assessing the relationships between CAPs, emissions reduction targets, plan implementation and emissions mitigation. My hypothesis was that CAPs result in emissions mitigation beyond the trend. This study compares states with and without CAPs, before and after adoption and implementation of plans. The first phase of the research, a content analysis of state-level CAPs, involves four components: 1) CAP development procedures; 2) goal setting, policy coverage and regional coordination; 3) implementation provisions and conditions; and 4) implementation mechanisms and monitoring results. The analysis reveals six types of CAPs, categorized based on the rigor of their targets and implementation. The second phase of the research analyzes the relationships between CAP types and changes in emissions using panel emissions data from 1990 to 2013. The regression model controls for social, political and climatic context, industrial mix and change over time, urban form and energy prices. The research shows that CAPs do result in reductions in emissions, although they are modest. Only a few CAPs set enforceable targets and provide strong evidence of implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Overall, progress towards goals is slow and near-term targets are low. The findings also suggest a role for planners in two key areas: transportation and land use. The analysis demonstrates that state-level CAPs call for low emissions reductions from trans (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Bowen Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stephanie Ryberg Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Boswell Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Studies; Public Policy; Sustainability; Transportation Planning; Urban Planning

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2018, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

This project examines the variation in tribal climate adaptation plans and vulnerability assessments and the reasons behind it in terms of the processes of their formation. Four types of plans are known to exist in terms of who convened them: (1) inhouse (by the tribe), (2) plans done by university boundary organizations, (3) those convened by nonprofits, and (4) those convened by LLCs. Thirty- our such documents were known to exist as of December of 2017. Each vary widely in terms of content and depth, as well as representation and use of traditional knowledges. The methods for this project were a combination of content analysis of these plans (to assess plan outcome) and interviews of relevant planning participants (to assess process). Key factors found to have affected the content of these plans included the convening party, the presence of external partners, number of contributing sectors, and the pre-existing capacities of the differing tribes as measured by per capita income, population, and tribal government size. Specificity of the problem descriptions and solution sets within the documents were ranked on a 1-3 scale and tested against these and other factors. Key themes that emerged from the interviews were community engagement, the importance of proper identification of expertise, the impact of resource constraints on plan content, and the importance of the usage of traditional knowledge. The findings of this project highlight not only the differences in process that have led to the most robust plans, but also what makes a tribe able and willing to make its own climate plan. This will hence aid the goal of tribal self-determination. Additionally, this highlights the ways in which differing knowledge systems (including traditional knowledge systems) can be used in the context of formal climate planning, which has broad applications to not only tribal but state, local, and federal climate planning efforts.

Committee: Derek Kauneckis PhD (Advisor); Nancy Manring PhD (Committee Member); Geoffrey Dabelko PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Climate Change; Environmental Justice; Environmental Management; Environmental Studies; Political Science; Public Policy

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

Climate change is underway with its effects felt everywhere but the consequences vary greatly by location. Cities are crucial focal points as more than 265 million people, or 80% of the U.S. population, live in urban areas, making the ability of cities to adapt to climate change critical for the majority of U.S. citizens (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). Climate planning and policymaking in cities must recognize that disinvested communities with aging infrastructure and minimal tree canopy can expose residents to radically hotter temperatures than residents of other neighborhoods (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008; Shandas et al., 2019; Hoffman et al., 2020) and is an example of how social and economic inequalities are exacerbated by climate change. Much climate planning to date has been top-down and city-wide, which overlooks neighborhood disparities and specific needs of communities, thus there is a need for research on equitable engagement strategies within cities that incorporate resident perspectives and share decision-making with residents. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the impacts of Climate Safe Neighborhoods (CSN), an equity-focused neighborhood-level climate planning program, on participating Cincinnati residents and resident and organizer perspectives on how CSN may promote community resilience in the face of climate change. 14 interviews with residents (n = 6) and organizers (n = 8) were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to explore how resident perceptions about local issues changed through their participation in CSN, how CSN participation affected residents' potential to act as advocates for their community, and barriers and catalysts to implementing locally relevant community change as identified by both residents and organizers of CSN. Key findings were that residents gained a deeper overall understanding of how climate issues in their community connect to each other and to their own personal lives, and t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carlie Trott Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stacie Furst-Holloway Ph.D. (Committee Member); Anjali Dutt Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2023, Geography

Comprehensive planning is a tool commonly used by municipalities in the United States for to express long term goals regarding climate change adaptation. As climate change is a politically polarizing topic in our country, this study aimed to look at the ways in which conservative leaning and liberal leaning cities address climate change in these plans. To do this, I rely on a policy evaluation framework and a key word count. By using both of these strategies, I am able to see how well cities planned for climate adaptation based on their political affiliation, and also how often they used climate related terms.

Committee: Harold Perkins Dr. (Advisor); Risa Whitson Dr (Advisor); Stephen Scanlan Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Climate Change; Environmental Justice; Environmental Studies; Geography; Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Chemical Engineering

The growing ecological footprint of human activities and large-scale industrialization have brought Earth and its natural eco-systems to a precarious state. Progress towards a Sustainable Circular Economy (SCE) is crucial to mitigate exploitation of natural resources, curb climate change and reduce accumulation of man-made materials in the environment as pollution. An optimal ‘roadmap' to facilitate the transition to a SCE, and to limit global temperature rise in the next 30 years to 2oC needs to be found. This dissertation focuses on developing mathematical frameworks and optimization tool-kits to holistically design current and future value-chain networks of products and services for SCE. These frameworks are demonstrated for case-studies pertaining to the transition of plastic packaging networks towards SCE. Utilizing process systems engineering and data analytics along with life cycle assessment, optimal value-chain pathways are found considering the environmental, economic, and social aspects of potential alternatives. A multi-objective superstructure optimization framework is developed to quantify the trade-offs between these SCE objectives in the form of Pareto-fronts. Applied to the grocery bags' life-cycle, this framework is able to quantify the paper-plastic dilemma; explore trade-offs between climate-change and recycling; and find emission hot-spots in current value-chains. Further, a novel multi-scale framework is developed to evaluate ‘green' chemical reaction-separation networks based on their interactions with the life-cycle and economy scales, thereby providing a tool to design systemic transformations of the chemical industry towards SCE. These frameworks are combined within a rigorous screening and ranking methodology to guide emerging technologies, climate actions using multi-objective metrics, and discover novel synergies between technology and policy-action. Finally, a stochastic portfolio optimization and planning framework is developed to gene (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bhavik Bakshi (Advisor); Joel Paulson (Committee Member); Stuart Cooper (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemical Engineering; Energy; Environmental Science; Operations Research; Sustainability; Systems Design

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

This dissertation in practice examines the absence of an advocacy framework for Black placemakers in southwest Springfield neighborhoods seeking to transform vacant spaces into vibrant pocket parks, green spaces, and community gardens. This critical community-based participatory research addresses inadequate public policies, resources, and technical assistance to create and sustain neighborhood sites for endurance, belonging, and resistance. Thematic findings indicated that systemic issues, street-level organizing, and sustainability are primary barriers and opportunities. An action intervention and change process was developed to establish the Springfield Park and Green Space Ecosystem (SPGE). The action plan focuses on a community coalition of power building, a community benefits agreement, zoning revisions, and public-private partnerships with results-based accountability.

Committee: James Olive (Committee Chair); Castel Sweet (Committee Member); Pamela Cross Young (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; Agricultural Education; Area Planning and Development; Behaviorial Sciences; Climate Change; Conservation; Cultural Anthropology; Environmental Education; Environmental Health; Environmental Justice; Land Use Planning; Landscape Architecture; Landscaping; Public Administration; Public Health; Public Health Education; Public Policy; Sustainability; Urban Forestry; Urban Planning

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Architecture has never been emergent. Emergence is the process of how something comes into higher-level being from lower-level rules. Traditionally, architecture participates in an emergent landscape as a building within the context of the city. Each building gives rise to patterns of development over time throughout the municipality: clusters of store fronts become business districts, groupings of residents become neighborhoods, etc. This method of organization are the lower-level patterns that give rise to a higher-level metropolis. Buildings lack the ability to respond to the dynamic forces of the near future like climate change and the displacement of individuals that is to follow. An emergent framework for architecture will be developed that establishes the building as a responsive agent within a context and call into question the traditional role of architecture in the formation of the city.

Committee: Edward Mitchell M.Arch (Committee Chair); Vincent Sansalone M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

Standing by my bedroom window, looking out at the ocean, a huge wave comes and swallows up my building. Everything around me is gone, including me. I wake up. I am 13 years old and living in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. With ongoing anthropogenic changes to the natural environment such as sea level rise and intensifying storms, coastal communities, especially ones segregated by class and culture, are particularly vulnerable in this context that challenges a way of life, and in some instances, threatens that life's survival. This dissertation focuses specifically on what one massive storm - Hurricane Sandy (Superstorm Sandy) - left behind. This research explored how these experiences impacted the design/ planning professionals (architects, planners, landscape architects, engineers) approaches to future climate-related events, as well as the impacts upon them personally, professionally, and societally. A single, embedded case study with narrative inquiry was used to gather first-person accounts and insights into the work, thoughts, and feelings of professionals whom society relies on increasingly as climate-induced crises proliferate. Data were classified into three pillars: Personal (impacts on the self/individual, psycho-social challenges, empathy/stress), Professional (impact to professional practice, reflection on strategies post-Sandy, impact on future events), and Societal (local and global impacts, leadership). Prominent themes under the personal pillar were impermanence, emotional resilience, and dignity. Professionally, Sandy left the study participants looking toward a more reflective design practice. The societal pillar described the broader social issues that emerged from the interviews. Two significant findings were lack of equal attention to marginalized communities and lack of diversity and inclusion within the design/planning profession. As more populations are being impacted by Hurricane Sandy-like events, designers/plan (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Holloway PhD (Committee Chair); Laurien Alexandre PhD (Committee Member); May Joseph PhD (Committee Member); Ronald Shiffman FAICP (Committee Member) Subjects: Architectural; Area Planning and Development; Climate Change; Design; Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Justice; Land Use Planning; Landscape Architecture; Mechanical Engineering; Mental Health; Native American Studies; Sustainability; Urban Planning

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Regional Development Planning

Globally, climate change impacts threaten the sustainability of human and natural systems. Urban areas, and regions rapidly urbanizing such as Africa, will experience climate change impacts the most. Subsequently, there have been calls to increase capacities to tackle climate change impacts, with a view of promoting sustainability. One such call draws attention to a need for increasing the availability of urban greenspaces. To heed this call demands an understanding of the factors inhibiting effective urban greenspace planning and how they can be planned as climate change interventions (CCIs) to address climate change impacts. This research provides some insights. It was undertaken in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana, underpinned by three arguments: (1) Institutional barriers to urban greenspace planning contribute to a low emphasis on urban greenspaces in the Kumasi Metropolis; (2) The socio-cultural factors surrounding the use and demand for urban greenspaces in the Kumasi Metropolis place a low emphasis on urban greenspaces; and (3) The institutional and socio-cultural barriers to urban greenspace planning provide hints of the challenges of planning for CCIs in the Kumasi Metropolis. Findings reveal a low integration of climate change issues in urban development plans in the Metropolis. Consequently, urban greenspace strategies such as tree planting and provision of community parks outlined in urban development plans for the Metropolis have not been framed as CCIs. Although urban greenspace strategies can serve as CCIs in the Metropolis, they are constrained by institutional barriers such as a lack of innovation in visions for urban greenspaces, political interference, inadequate funding, and disharmony in land management. Also, socio-cultural barriers such as residents' low priority for and dwindling use of, and poor maintenance of urban greenspaces limit residents' demand for this amenity, its availability, and the planning of new ones, thereby serving as barrier (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Danilo Palazzo Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leah Hollstein Ph.D. (Committee Member); Xinhao Wang Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2017, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

Around the world, municipalities are facing new challenges, not the least of which is climate change. This is especially true for rural communities that, for a variety of reasons, will be disproportionately affected by the climatic changes and accompanying policies or programs. This dissertation, written in manuscript-style, integrates climate change and social-ecological scholarship to address the unique character of rural communities, to communicate the complexity of rural identity through the term "rural character"; and to empower rural communities to incorporate adaptation strategies into their daily municipal operations and planning. Specifically, this dissertation seeks to answer the following questions: What is community character and what does it offer for climate change planning? What is the relationship between rural character and climate change? How can rural communities adapt to create a resilient rural character? Through this research, I argue that there is a common dialogue across multiple disciplines that shows opportunities for interdisciplinary adaptation scholarship that could inform local planning efforts. I identify a common framework of people-place-process across multiple disciplines and identify opportunities for cross-disciplinary communication. To understand the complexity of the rural identity, my single mixed-methods case-study in Northwest Connecticut develops a place-based definition as well as a transferable model of rural character that can be used to understand other rural locales. The model of elements, dimensions, and tensions presents the quantitative and qualitative nature of rurality that, in its composition, represents the components of meaning to local residents. The study also indicates the importance of a regional rural identity. Bringing the scholarship to bear in the last manuscript, I use the theoretical underpinning of socio-ecological systems and place-based definition of rural character to create a guidebook (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Jordan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); James Gruber Ph.D. (Committee Member); Keith Halfacree Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Climate Change; Cultural Resources Management; Environmental Studies; Geography; Land Use Planning; Regional Studies; Sustainability

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Community Planning

The imminent effects of climate change pose a great threat to the livelihood of social, ecological, and built environments. An important aspect of those environments is tangible cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is not a relic of the past. It has historic and aesthetic value for contemporary and future societies; however, it is currently threatened by the changing climate. This research explores how heritage sites can build resilience in the face of climate change threats using green infrastructure, while preserving their authenticity and integrity. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ile de Saint-Louis, Senegal, is examined as a case study. The Ile de Saint-Louis is remarkable for its architecture, town plan, and unique landscape in a river delta. Its location in the middle of the Senegal River, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and dense urban fabric make it vulnerable to climate change. The very future of the heritage site is contingent upon building climate change resilience, requiring a preservation approach that extends beyond the restoration of individual buildings. This research uses mixed methodologies to answer its research question: “In light of the climate change threats facing heritage sites, how can climate change planning in heritage sites use green infrastructure?” The case study methodology includes an in-depth study of site components and current and future climate risks faced by the site. Following this study, a vulnerability analysis is conducted for each block on the island using composite variables of sensitivity and exposure to climate. The results of the vulnerability analysis are combined with opportunity for green infrastructure variables to create a weighted suitability for green infrastructure intervention analysis. This analysis identifies blocks on the island most suitable for green infrastructure intervention. Informant interviews are used to illuminate threats to and characteristics of the heritage site. Finally, a SWOT (Strengt (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leah Hollstein Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2016, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Traditionally, the size of natural disaster events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods is measured in terms of wind speed (m/sec), energy released (ergs), or discharge (m3/sec). Economic loss and fatalities from natural disasters result from the intersection of the human infrastructure and population with the natural event. This study investigates the size versus cumulative number distribution of individual natural disaster events in the United States. Economic losses are adjusted for inflation to 2014 United States Dollars (USD). The cumulative number divided by the time over which the data ranges is the basis for making probabilistic forecasts in terms of the Number of Events Greater Than a Given Size Per Year and it's inverse, Return Period. Such forecasts are of interest to insurers/re-insurers, meteorologists, seismologists, government planners, and response agencies. Plots of size versus cumulative number distributions per year for economic loss and fatalities are well fit by power scaling functions of the form P(x) = Cx-ß; where, P(x) is the cumulative number of events per year with size equal to and greater than size x (or probability of occurrence), C is a constant which measures the activity level, x is the event size, and ß is the scaling exponent. Power distributions have a property referred to as self-similar or scale free, so that any sample of the distribution at any scale is statistically identical to the whole distribution. Economic loss and fatalities due to hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods are well fit by power functions over one to five orders of magnitude in size. Economic losses for hurricanes and tornadoes have greater scaling exponents, ß = 1.1 and 0.9 respectively, whereas earthquakes and floods have smaller scaling exponents, ß = 0.4 and 0.6 respectively. The value of the scaling exponent determines the petitioning of losses between larger and smaller sized events. All of the data sets exhibit a roll-o (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Barton Ph.D. (Advisor); Sarah Tebbens Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mateen Rizki Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmosphere; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate Change; Earth; Environmental Science; Geography; Hydrology; Mathematics; Physical Geography; Urban Planning

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2016, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

Recent reports highlight the vulnerability of the elderly to climate change. Unfortunately, a lack of research incorporating the perspectives of the elderly on this topic could cause their needs to go unrecognized and unaddressed. To promote adaptation planning that is responsive to the concerns of the elderly, this dissertation presents the results of a participatory research and adaptation planning process conducted in partnership with the elderly community of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The process combined a five-step climate change adaptation planning model with a community-based action research approach that placed the elderly participants as key drivers in the research and planning processes. For this research, the elderly participants began by exploring their vulnerability to current and predicted climate stressors including extreme heat, flooding, storms, and air pollution. They then developed adaptation goals and strategies. Finally, a summative evaluation assessed the planning process itself. Among the key findings, this research identified personal attributes, including health, economic, and social characteristics, that interact with a range of contextual factors to influence the elderly population's vulnerability. As a result, predicted climate changes could have serious consequences for Bridgeport's elderly. Participants recommended adaptation goals and strategies to enhance their resilience with a focus on encouraging preparedness and providing community services including warning mechanisms, resources to secure safe shelter, transportation resources, as well as resources to aid in coping and recovery. A prioritization exercise showed that participants believed all the suggestions were likely to be effective and feasible to implement. Furthermore, the summative evaluation revealed that the participatory planning process enhanced the elderly's resilience by raising awareness and understanding, increasing communication, and strengthening elders' (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Gruber PhD (Committee Chair); Steve Chase PhD (Committee Member); Bill Horton PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Climate Change; Environmental Studies; Gerontology; Public Health

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2015, Educational Administration (Education)

A study has been conducted in order to pursue an enhanced understanding of the accountability-focused work of high school principals in a large Ohio school district. This study examines the use by the principals of climate data for the purpose of school improvement planning. This study also identifies the data sets used by principals when creating annual School Improvement Plans (SIPs), especially when engaging in the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process. Interviews were conducted with seven principals in the district, which annually provides its principals with formal climate data. These data have been collected by the district and the teachers' association (union) from parents, students, and teachers. Principals, in this particular district, are required to create annual SIPs, but are not mandated to use any particular forms of data when creating such plans. This investigation sought to understand if the principals used the formally collected school climate data when creating SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Furthermore, the study sought to understand the manner in which and the extent to which the principals use climate data when creating their SIPs. The qualitative data from the interviews have been analyzed by the researcher through an emergent coding system. The study revealed that while the principals indicated that they value school climate data, they typically did not focus on the available formal school climate data when creating their SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Instead, the principals focused on using data sets related to state and federal school improvement mandates measured by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. Furthermore, the principals in this study described having little or no training on the use of school climate data as part of the DDDM process for school improvement. This study suggests that principals may need to focus on understanding and improving school climate, in order to make plans for continuous improvem (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Larson (Committee Chair); Gordon Brooks (Committee Co-Chair); Jerry Johnson (Committee Member); Amy Taylor-Bianco (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; Organization Theory; School Administration

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Community Planning

Are U.S. city climate action plans planning to reduce vehicle miles traveled? Reducing the need to drive (fewer miles and fewer trips) specifically and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The urban planning profession identifies a broad portfolio of policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. What land use or planning policies have the most significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change? Thirty U.S. climate action plans are selected for this analysis. A majority of the plans in this analysis integrate public transit accessibility, distance to transit, street network and intersection design, parking or congestion management, transit-oriented or mixed-use development, destination or job accessibility, or job-housing balance planning strategies. However, most achieve only fair to poor levels of success at explicitly linking these strategies to reduced vehicle miles and emissions. Climate action plans might serve their most virtuous purpose not by becoming yet another set of policies, actions, and strategies, but by synthesizing and precisely repacking existing or future initiatives. Planners need to harness strategies that cut through the clutter. Until more climate action plans drill down on specific and significant land use choices explicitly linked to reducing vehicle miles driven, these plans are largely just codifying things that were likely to happen anyways.

Committee: Carla Chifos Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leah Hollstein Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Urban Planning

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2012, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Regional Development Planning

In my dissertation research, I explored the influence of land use characteristics on household travel-related emissions in Hamilton County, Ohio. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from household vehicular travel are a major contributor to climate change, generating up to 65 percent of total transportation emissions in the US, which contribute up to one-third of all CO2 emissions in the US. Urban and regional planners have been exploring the feasibility of using denser, diverse and compact urban development patterns to reduce travel demand. There is debate about which specific land use characteristics have the largest influence on household travel. Most planners agree that there is a statistically significant link between specific built environment characteristics and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), but are not sure of the magnitude of this link due to lack of convincing studies and, often conflicting evidence from various studies. I have analyzed the influence of various land use characteristics on household travel-related CO2 emissions. I used two main data sources - parcel level land use data for Hamilton County available from the Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System (CAGIS), and the recent Greater Cincinnati Household Travel Survey 2009-10, the first large-scale GPS-based household travel survey in the country. As part of the methodology, I developed an entropy-based measure of land use diversity for each survey household in the GIS environment, using parcel level land use data for Hamilton County. I computed VMT using network analysis in GIS and also developed land use variables including building density, street and intersection density, distance to transit, and regional accessibility using advanced GIS tools. Finally, I used regression models to quantify the influence of land use variables on VMT, controlling for socioeconomic effects of demographics, household structure, and income. The research outcomes provide interesting insights on the influence of di (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carla Chifos PhD (Committee Chair); Olivier Parent PhD (Committee Member); Michael Romanos PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Regional Studies

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2002, Arts and Sciences : Geography

Currently, relatively little information is known about the use of land management options as a tool to adapt to the water quality impacts of global climate change. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the combined impacts of land-use and climate changes on water quality in the Little Miami River (LMR) watershed. This project uses current and future land-use development plans from the counties comprising the LMR watershed to form a future land-use scenario for the watershed. Climate change is simulated using results from two prominent Global Circulation Models to develop four hypothetical climate scenarios. These scenarios simulate "worst-case" scenarios which depict the warm-dry and warm-wet events which can affect the hydrological cycle. The hydrological impacts of these climate scenarios, along with those of the future land-use changes, are modeled using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Through this methodology, individual and combined impacts of the land-use and climate changes on water quality can be examined. This results indicate that the changes in runoff, nutrient, and sediment loads under future climate changes are large enough to require a significant planning response. In addition, low-density residential developments can result in higher water quality than agricultural land, when both soil type and land-use type are taken into consideration. Modeling results indicate that the nutrient enrichment problem in the watershed is due to an overabundance of phosphorus; sedimentation is also a problem. When land-use changes are implemented in light of the impending climate change, both phosphorus loads and sediment loads can be drastically decreased. Therefore, the use of land management schemes can be a powerful, flexible, and adaptive tool to mitigate the adverse water quality impacts of global climate change.

Committee: Dr. Susanna T.Y. Tong (Advisor) Subjects: Geography