Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Publication Climate Change Induced Migration in Southern Louisiana(2024-05) Breiner, SydneyThis research project will analyze the issue of climate change-induced migration in Southern Louisiana, through the social theoretical lens of intersectionality. The particular question I am trying to answer is, “Have the effects of climate change influenced the decisions of people in Lafourche Parish to migrate to another place? What intersections of social, economic, cultural, and political processes influence someone to migrate because of climate change, and how do these intersections manifest themselves in Lafourche Parish.” I use an intersectional lens to evaluate how these various societal and social processes are related to people leaving after a catastrophic natural event, such as a hurricane. I am using the aftermath of Hurricane Ida to answer this question. Furthermore, I will use Kimberlé Crenshaw’s definition of intersectionality throughout my research. Using an ethnographic model, I interviewed people’s experiences post Hurricane Ida. I have found within this research that different intersections mainly socio-economic status, age, geographic location, and overall ineffectiveness of the surrounding infrastructures have made it difficult for citizens to leave an area that is projected to be continuously impacted by these catastrophic events. The goal of this research is to amplify the voices of those who are affected by these events yearly.Publication Rights of Nature: An Adaptable Community Tool(2024-05) Charles, Livia P.Over the past two decades, rights of nature (RoN) philosophies and cases have grown in prominence in the United States and across the world as communities seek effective approaches for protecting communities from encroaching environmental crises. RoN principles—recognizing ecosystems as having rights and inherent value—have been invoked in diverse settings in over 150 cases in the United States, but studies on how the concept manifests at the local level are limited. The political and demographic diversity of communities engaging with RoN raises questions around prevalent notions associating environmental issues with liberal progressive politics and particular socio-economic classes and cultural backgrounds. To understand how this concept is able to span political and cultural divides and how it’s utilized and interpreted in these different settings, I conducted an interpretive analysis of embedded cases. The RoN movement is commonly characterized as a legal revolution to reorder dominant anthropocentric legal political and governance systems. Academics and activists often describe the goals of RoN to include catalyzing cultural awareness around human-environment interdependency and awakening western society to ecosystems’ rights to exist. This study reveals that in practice, communities’ understandings and applications of RoN laws do not necessarily match these definitions; rather, they comprise distinct elements which arise from communities’ particular cultural and historical contexts. Through semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, this study examines how three geographically and demographically distinct U.S. communities—Grant Township, PA; Santa Monica, CA; and Orange County, FL—are interpreting and operationalizing RoN. Exploring how the communities’ engagement with RoN relates to their geographical contexts contributes to knowledge surrounding how politically, ideologically, and demographically distinct communities articulate and ascribe meaning to protecting their local ecosystems. At a time when corporate interests often benefit at the expense of environmental and community health and state powers are eroding local autonomy, community RoN efforts have had some success. Considering the communities’ RoN narratives through theoretical frameworks such as Michele de Certeau’s (1984) art of the weak and Chloe Ahmann’s (2018) temporal maneuvering against slow violence reveals how RoN laws can serve as a resistance tactic, one that is adaptable to varying political, demographic, and cultural contexts.Publication A Fortress within a Modern City: What is St. George?(2024-05) Sajo, HelenBaton Rouge, Louisiana is home to over 400,000 residents, of which 80,000 might become residents of a new city: St. George. In October 2019, a majority voted to incorporate their portion of East Baton Rouge Parish into a city which would become the richest and whitest city in Louisiana. The organizers of the incorporation say it was because of reasons such as the need for a better public school system and for financial sovereignty from the city of Baton Rouge, but it goes deeper than that. With a survey and personal interviews, this research suggests that residents were misled about the creation of this new city, as well as how much of an impact it would have on all of the surrounding areas. Residents were unaware of how they would receive city services, and how long it would take to get the new public schools operational. While the creation of this city could have happened and was legal, a lawsuit set it back and the incorporation has been denied on multiple technicalities. They are currently awaiting a decision from the Louisiana Supreme Court.Publication How Can Employers Contribute to Reducing Commuter-Generated Carbon Emissions? Evaluating Employer-Provided Commuter Benefits in Cambridge, MA(2020-09) Richards, MaryEncouraging a more sustainable commuter mode shift and improving urban transportation systems have the potential to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), a major contributor to climate change. Replacing some single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips with alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit, walking, or bicycling, represents one approach to begin reducing transportation-related emissions. Collectively, these shifts in transportation patterns would help to reduce the negative social, economic, and environmental costs associated with high rates of personal vehicle use. Employer-provided benefits programs have the potential to influence commuter behavior by making sustainable, alternative commuting choices a more convenient and economically feasible option. In addition, the implementation of these programs can have broader benefits such as helping to achieve municipal and regional sustainability goals and improving community members’ physical health and quality of life. This study applies qualitative and quantitative analysis to investigate employee commuting behavior in response to employer-provided benefits in Kendall Square, a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The employee and employer survey data analyzed in this research was originally collected by TransAction, a transportation consulting firm in the Greater Boston region. To comply with Cambridge’s Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) Ordinance, TransAction works closely with companies to coordinate and manage onsite commuter services programs and prepare PTDM Annual Reports. The primary objectives of this research are: 1) to introduce the multi-dimensional benefits of re-envisioning the existing transportation networks; 2) to determine the influence of employer-provided commuting benefits on employee commute mode choice; 2) to provide guidance for employers interested in promoting a more sustainable employee commute mode split; and 3) to present the broader implications and applications of this research for employers, municipalities, and coordinating agencies interested in reducing SOV commuting trips and promoting the use of more sustainable, alternative modes of transportation. Overall, the findings from this research illustrate that while employers have the ability to promote more sustainable transportation choices among their employees, the complexity of the transportation network (and its interdependencies) requires collaboration among all stakeholders to initiate widespread, comprehensive changes.Publication A Study on Modelling Spatial-Temporal Human Mobility Patterns for Improving Personalized Weather Warning(2018-05) Xu, YueUnderstanding human mobility patterns is important for severe weather warning since these patterns can help identify where people are in time and in space when flash floods, tornados, high winds and hurricanes are occurring or are predicted to occur. A GIS (Geographic Information Science) data model was proposed to describe the spatial-temporal human activity. Based on this model, a metric was designed to represent the spatial-temporal activity intensity of human mobility, and an index was generated to quantitatively describe the change in human activities. By analyzing high-resolution human mobility data, the paper verified that human daily mobility patterns could be clearly described with the proposed methods. This research was part of a National Science Foundation grant on next generation severe weather warning systems. Data was collected from a specialized mobile app for severe weather warning, called CASA Alerts, which is being used to analyze different aspects of human behavior in response to severe weather warnings. The data set for this research uses GPS location data from more than 300 APP users during a 14 month period (location was reported at 2 minutes interval, or at based on a 100m change in location). A targeted weather warning strategy was proposed as a result of this research, and future research questions were discussed.Publication Equity of Access: A Sidewalk Condition and Connectivity Study of PVTA Bus Stops in the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts(2024-02) Thomas, TatumWalking infrastructure accessibility is key to providing access to transit systems. This is especially important in disadvantaged communities, known in Massachusetts as environmental justice communities, as these communities are often the most transit dependent. Little research has been done examining the condition of walking infrastructure and its accessibility, and its relationship to transit access. While studies have been conducted in large metropolitan areas around the United States on overall transit access and equity, smaller metropolitan areas have long been overlooked. This research aims to fill the gap in research of walking infrastructure accessibility to transit systems in the context of the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts (the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area). The Pioneer Valley is composed of the mid-sized city of Springfield as well as smaller surrounding urban, suburban, and rural areas. The focus of this research is to connect the accessibility of walking infrastructure to the accessibility of public transportation. In addition, it aims to create a methodology for examining infrastructure accessibility and condition, allowing for the scoring and evaluation of infrastructure to identify barriers to access and areas in need of improvement. The study does this through the creation of a sidewalk condition and connectivity evaluation matrix, based on existing accessibility literature. This iii methodology was then applied to three small study areas of varying characteristics within the Pioneer Valley. Each of the three study areas has been identified as an environmental justice community. The results of this thesis include an evaluation matrix which can be applied to a variety of study areas as well as field-verified inventories of sidewalk connectivity and condition in the three study areas. A detailed analysis of the resulting inventories identified common accessibility barriers across the study areas as well as trends in accessibility across varied land uses, population densities, and ridership trends.Publication Modeling Spatial Distributions of Tidal Marsh Blue Carbon using Morphometric Parameters from Lidar(2023-02) Turek, BonnieTidal marshes serve as important “blue carbon” ecosystems that accrete large amounts of carbon with limited area. While much attention has been paid to the spatial variability of sedimentation within salt marshes, less work has been done to characterize spatial variability in marsh carbon density. Driven by tidal inundation, surface topography, and sediment supply, soil properties in marshes vary spatially with several parameters, including marsh platform elevation and proximity to the marsh edge and tidal creek network. We used lidar to extract these morphometric parameters from tidal marshes to map soil organic carbon (SOC) at the meter scale. Fixed volume soil samples were collected at four northeast U.S. tidal marshes with distinctive morphologies to aid in building our predictive models. Tidal creek networks were delineated from 1-m resolution topo-bathy lidar data using a semi-automated workflow in GIS. Sample distance to tidal creeks and flow distance to the marsh edge were then determined. Log-linear multivariate regression models were developed to predict soil organic content, bulk density, and carbon density as a function of these predictive metrics at each site and across sites. Results show that modeling salt marsh soil characteristics with morphometric inputs works best in marshes with simple, single creek morphologies. Distance from tidal creeks was the most significant model predictor. Addition of distance to the inlet and tidal range as regional metrics significantly improves cross-site modeling. Our process-based approach results in predicted total marsh carbon stocks comparable to previous studies but provides trade-offs to existing simplistic carbon mapping methods. Further, we provide motivation to continue rigorous mapping of soil carbon at fine spatial resolutions and to use these results to guide salt marsh restoration projects and aid in the development of carbon markets.Publication Manufacturing Land to Grab It: Land Reclamation, Dispossession, and Resistance in Bali, Indonesia(2022-09) Lange, KirkThis thesis examines land reclamation as an increasingly significant form of land grabbing and control. Its focus is coastal reclamation in south Bali, Indonesia, particularly in and near the culturally, economically, and ecologically important Benoa Bay. Like elsewhere in Asia and around the world, the remaking of landscapes and seascapes in Indonesia through reclamation has numerous, interconnected material, ecological, and social impacts. In south Bali, coral, mangrove, and seagrass meadows have been degraded, fishers’ livelihoods decimated, and communities’ spiritual and other connections to place disrupted. Benoa is a particularly productive case to analyze, as there have been instances of both historical and recent reclamation projects, as well as a proposed mega-project that has successfully been resisted for nearly a decade. The thesis seeks to make multiple contributions in analyzing reclamation, primarily in Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia. First, despite its quickening pace and widening extent, there is a need for greater empirical attention to reclamation’s spatiality and its entwined social, ecological, and material effects. This case study is attentive to the historical and conjunctural specificities of Bali (including the tourist-centric economy that provides capital with unique imaginaries and circulations for a spatial fix and the Balinese-Hinduism that subtends legal pluralism), but also attempts to trace trends and dynamics of reclamation more widely. Second, examining reclamation as an assemblage enables us to better understand its political economy, by identifying the many financial, technological, legal, discursive and other elements that must be made to cohere. Analyzing cases of resistance, or other failures to cohere, reveal potential weak seams and chokepoints in reclamation’s assemblage. Third, analysis of reclamation enables us to see reclaimed land as “manufactured,” and different not just theoretically from emplaced land, but distinct in its behaviors. Manufactured land behaves like a true (not pseudo) commodity. Seeing land in a commodity chain further reveals its political economy as well as opportunities to disrupt its manufacture.Publication Algorithm Performance on the Estimation of CDOM and DOC in the North Slopes of Alaska(2021-09) Weisenbach, MonicaUse of satellite imagery makes environmental monitoring easy and convenient with little of the logistics involved in planning sampling campaigns. Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important component to track as a proxy for the large pool of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In a world contending with the looming issue of global climate change, the ability to investigate the carbon cycle of inland to coastal environments allows for examination of the magnitude of carbon flowing through the system and potential changes over years. The Arctic region is a critical area for climate change impacts but is a difficult landscape for sampling implementation and is thus an excellent target for satellite monitoring. This thesis focuses on the North Slopes region of Alaska to take advantage of the Toolik Lake monitoring site. Landsat 8 imagery has the appropriate spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions for use in inland water and coastal environments. There are numerous developed algorithms for CDOM estimations, but many algorithms are designed for specific regions. A special challenge in inland environments is the bottom reflectance contribution to the outgoing light signal. An algorithm designed specifically for optically-shallow water environments (SBOP) was tested against two algorithms designed for optically-deep water environments (QAA-CDOM, K05). The relationship between CDOM and DOC was also investigated and used as further validation for algorithm performance. The SBOP algorithm shows promise iv alongside QAA-CDOM at estimating CDOM absorption, but the number of validation point makes pinpointing one algorithm difficult. All algorithms performed well at estimating DOC concentrations.Publication Unsettled Minds, Unsettled Landscapes: Migration and Mental Health(2021-09) Galecki, JulietInternational migration has reached an all-time high in 2015 where many global states were not able to keep up with the numbers of people crossing political borders. With many reasons to flee a landscape, both refugees and undocumented immigrants face the continued stressors that are part of the migratory journey, even years after their journey is over. Many who fled during this time frame were escaping war in Syria, while many others were escaping economic devastation, gender violence, and other forms of insecurity all over the world. Evidence has shown that groups who have experienced violent geographies who have been forcibly displaced have higher rates of psychiatric illness than those who were not exposed to these stressful conditions. The effects of toxic stress do not stop once the individual is taken out of the traumatic landscape; it stays within the individual as they continue their life. This study will discuss additional stressors associated with the migratory experience during and after resettlement. This thesis discusses three groups of actors associated with migration including NGOs, migrating people, and citizens affected by migration. It will discuss personal accounts of refugees and NGOs who have experience with displacement. This thesis will focus particularly on issues such as mental health and access to health, education, and employment services for displaced populations. This thesis will also discuss indicators of psychiatric illness in displaced populations and present-day solutions to restructure contemporary immigration systems around the world.Publication An Assessment of Four Selected Communities Along the Appalachian Trail in Relation to Emile Benton Mackaye's Original Vision of Regional Planning(2021-05) Schottanes, Jessica AnnPlanner, conservationist, forester, and geographer Emile Benton MacKaye envisioned a revolutionary, extensive foot trail that would promote the interaction between communities throughout the United States' distinctive eastern region. His 1921 plan for the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) focused on balancing the basic requirements for life in and out of the urban context by developing an ‘indigenous’ environment and developmental mold (Bower 1962, 372). However, almost a century has passed, and MacKaye's approach to the planning process, organization, environmental development, and the rural economy remains hidden beneath the mountain forest canopy extending from Maine to Georgia. Four of the forty-nine designated communities in the A.T. CommunityTM program today were analyzed to determine if and which aspects of Benton MacKaye's original vision of regional planning were achieved 100 years later. On-the-ground observations were collected through informal interactions with A.T. CommunityTM Supporters, unaffiliated businesses and organizations, and locals while traveling to each of the four A.T. regions, defined by the A.T. Conservancy (ATC). It was essential to understand if the designations transformed trailside neighborhoods into outdoor recreational and social hubs and shifted community perspectives toward the Trail and the ATC. Although most people think of the A.T. purely in terms of the opportunities it provides for outdoor and wilderness experiences, it is also perceived as a critical focus for communities' economic growth and vitality. The research reveals that the program and its complimentary ‘Supporter’ system for local businesses are ineffective. The ATC branded these trail towns. Yet, no elements of MacKaye’s vision or community improvements have truly been recognized following A.T. CommunityTM designations within the last decade. Regardless of geographic, temporal, internal, and physical aspects, this outcome was consistent in all four case study communities (Monson-ME, Harpers Ferry-Bolivar-WV, Damascus-VA, and Hot Springs-NC).