Projects
Research
New Urban developments are a higher density, more compact urban form than conventional low density developments (sprawl). High density developments like New Urban forms place more people, buildings, and infrastructure at risk than conventional developments on an equivalent land unit exposed to hazards, and thus pose a potentially greater threat. Despite the rapid expansion of New Urban developments in hazardous areas, no studies have analyzed the effects of New Urban design on hazard mitigation.
This National Science Foundation funded study will contribute to knowledge about how Smart Growth programs and New Urban developments can be designed to attain the benefits of New Urbanism without increasing the threat from hazards. The study will yield guidelines for local governments on how to prepare comprehensive hazard mitigation plans that identify and prioritize mitigation policies focused on New Urban developments; identify site design practices to safely build New Urban developments; and suggest factors that need attention for supporting mitigation involving enforcement, citizen support, and staff capacity. Because federal and state governments have significant roles in promoting mitigation, the study will also provide guidelines on how to influence local governments and developers to support use of mitigation practices in New Urban developments.
Coastal Ecosystem Degradation and Tsunami Mitigation
(2005-2006)
This National Science Foundation funded study includes an interdisciplinary team of investigators from the University of British Columbia and the University of North Carolina that will examine the potential tsunami mitigation benefits of coastal ecosystems along the Indian Ocean crescent. The massive destruction and loss of life caused by the December 2004 tsunami disaster offers a significant opportunity to explore the links between ecosystem degradation and damage. While the disaster field has given surprisingly limited attention to these links, even less attention has been given to the role of coastal ecosystems in mitigating tsunami impacts. The study will provide insights into role of ecosystem degradation, remote sensing as a research tool, and environmental conservation as a mitigation strategy. These insights should be of particular interest to communities at risk to tsunamis. Investigation of these links is highly appropriate since much of the field data are ephemeral and must be gathered during the disaster aftermath.
Hazard Mitigation Policy Applied to Coastal and Floodplain Habitats
(2008-2010)
The Institute for the Environment (IE) and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) are conducting a National Council for Science and the Environment funded study to identify opportunities for wildlife conservation in coastal and floodplain areas where people and property are at high risk of flooding and other storm damage. The findings will be of interest to federal, state, and local managers and policymakers working in coastal and riverine communities - especially those communities at risk for increased severity of flooding and storm damage due to climate change. The goal of the proposed project is to identify opportunities to implement the State Wildlife Action Plans in hazard prone areas by (1) identifying areas where flood and other storm hazard areas overlap priority habitats, (2) facilitating coordination among federal and state agencies in these areas, (3) exploring opportunities for applying mitigation funding and other policy tools to protect or restore wildlife habitat, (4) proposing changes to national and state policies that influence the development or protection natural hazard areas to address climate science and wildlife conservation, and (5) examining the impacts on habitat as a result of predicted sea level rise and increased flooding due to climate change. Our final products will demonstrate opportunities to implement state habitat goals in hazard prone areas and will provide guidance for how to improve coordination and collaboration across agencies responsible for wildlife conservation and hazard mitigation to achieve multiple objectives, including the protection or restoration of wildlife habitat.
Analysis of Federal Mitigation Policy in the U.S.: Mitigation Plans, Expenditures, Civic Engagement, and Local Capability
(2008-2013)
The nation is making a major investment in hazard mitigation planning since adoption of the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000. This Deparment of Homeland Security funded study involves a collaborative partnership between CSCD and the UNC Center for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management. The study examines the factors motivating local jurisdictions to voluntarily adopt DMA plans, and enact incentives/disincentives, and use federal funds to mitigate hazards resulting from the DMA plans. Mitigation includes avoidance of development in hazardous areas through land use planning, restoration and protection ecosystem serves that offer mitigation functions, and retrofit of infrastructure systems. The study will entail an examination of the variability of community mitigation efforts through indicators of the planning process that include civic engagement, local jurisdiction commitment to mitigation, availability and quality of scientific information on vulnerability, strength of state mitigation plans and programs, severity of local risk, and prior disaster losses. The study will also include community demonstration sites will be the focus of application best practices for building local capability to plan and advance mitigation through the use of state-of-the-art public engagement techniques that include visualization techniques, hazards modeling and mapping, and other means to assess the influence of infrastructure systems on real estate development decisions.
DMA Final Report
Collaborative Research: Reconciling Human and Natural Systems for the Equitable Provision of Ecosystem Services in the Triangle of North Carolina
(2009-2011)
Society envisions metropolitan areas that supply ecosystem services sustainably, and mechanisms to distribute those services equitably. Attaining this vision requires a richer understanding of the production of ecosystem services as a function of interactions between built and natural environments. This study addresses these challenges in the Triangle Region of North Carolina under National Science Foundation's Urban Long Term Research Area (ULTRA) program. One of the fastest-growing regions of the country, the Triangle contains urban, suburban, and rural lands, and 45 municipal and seven county governments.
In collaboration with researchers from Duke University and North Carolina State University, the UNC-CH Institute for the Environment's Center for Sustainable Community Design and Center for Watershed Science and Management will apply a three-part framework that entails: (1) the production of ecosystem services by ecological systems; (2) their valuation and monetization by people; and (3) the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to allocate these benefits equitably. Researchers will: (a) apply this framework to ecosystem services linked to clean water production; (b) further develop a network of collaborators through community workshops; and (c) develop an integrated data platform that will serve researchers, government agencies, and the public. The program will then seek to include other ecosystem services (open space, habitat and biodiversity support, carbon sequestration). The overall goals are: (1) to become leaders in establishing a multi-disciplinary and policy-relevant program focused on managing coupled human and natural systems and (2) to develop the Triangle ULTRA as the hub of a regional network engaging scientists, managers, and community stakeholders in applied research.
Community Engagement
http://www.mdcinc.org/programs/fema.aspx
Disadvantaged communities bear a disproportionate share of the impacts of natural disasters. They experience elevated probabilities of losses of life and injury, social disruption, and experience greater difficulty recovering from disasters due to lower incomes. The primary goal of this multi-year project supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ($2 million) is to identify and overcome barriers for increasing awareness of disasters and building capacity for emergency preparedness in disadvantaged minority communities in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The CSCD and MDC, a non-profit community development organization based in Chapel Hill, will work in partnership with select communities to tap their knowledge and leadership abilities, transfer new knowledge, and build their capacity to increase levels of awareness and preparedness.The project consists of three core objectives: (1) To build community capacity to undertake coordinated action to develop and implement emergency preparedness plans; (2) To raise awareness and knowledge of community residents about the potential vulnerability to harm from future disasters, and the measures that can be undertaken to reduce the vulnerability; and (3) To reduce community vulnerability to harm from disasters while respecting local needs.
Development of a Framework for Transforming Eastern North Carolina to a Sustainable Future
(2008- )
Growth has created a number of issues and challenges for counties, cities and towns in the region, increasing demands for infrastructure and services, loss of wildlife habitat, water pollution, change in community character, and a loss of the region's sense of place. To effectively address these issues requires a substantial shift in direction of change in ENC, a commitment to envision a more sustainable future, and to act to work towards that future.
This DoD funded project involves creation of a collaborative research and engagement framework aimed at development and application of regional visioning project that includes forecasts, environmental and development impact assessments, and planning with local and regional partners for transforming Eastern North Carolina to a sustainable future. (View Poster). Current work focuses on identification of critical growth issues, local technical capabilities and willingness to form future partnerships, and the types of land use and impact assessment models that fit local needs and capacities to use them. Information derived from the work will provide a basis for development of short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies for building local and regional capacity to plan for a sustainable future.
Building Local Government Capacity to Manage Growth in Eastern North Carolina
Proposed Strategies for Building a Sustainable Future in Eastern North Carolina
Camden County Green Industrial Park Study
Final Report
This project examined the feasibility of developing a "green" industrial park in Camden County, North Carolina. Funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation, the project was administered by the UNC Institute for the Environment (IE), and research was conducted by UNC teams from IE, the Environmental Finance Center in the School of Government and the Center for Competitive Economies in the Kenan-Flagler Business School. The report focuses on three areas: (1) business opportunities and regional development, (2) environmental quality, and (3) governance and finance.
© 2009 UNC Institute for the Environment.