Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Urban-Rural Surface Temperature Deviation And Intra-Urban Variations Contained By An Urban Growth Boundary, Kevan B. Moffett, Yasuyo Makido, Vivek Shandas

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The urban heat island (UHI) concept describes heat trapping that elevates urban temperatures relative to rural temperatures, at least in temperate/humid regions. In drylands, urban irrigation can instead produce an urban cool island (UCI) effect. However, the UHI/UCI characterization suffers from uncertainty in choosing representative urban/rural endmembers, an artificial dichotomy between UHIs and UCIs, and lack of consistent terminology for other patterns of thermal variation at nested scales. We use the case of a historically well-enforced urban growth boundary (UGB) around Portland (Oregon, USA): to explore the representativeness of the surface temperature UHI (SUHI) as derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging …

Social Vulnerability To Large Wildfires In The Western Usa, Palaiologos Palaiologou, Alan A. Ager, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Cody Evers, Michelle A. Day

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Federal land managers in the US can be informed with quantitative assessments of the social conditions of the populations affected by wildfires originating on their administered lands in order to incorporate and adapt their management strategy to achieve a more targeted prioritization of community wildfire protection investments. In addition, these assessments are valuable to socially vulnerable communities for quantifying their exposure to wildfires originating on adjacent land tenures. We assessed fire transmission patterns using fire behavior simulations to understand spatial variations across three diverse study areas (North-central Washington; Central California; and Northern New Mexico) to understand how different land tenures …

Do Corporate Owned Adaptive Learning Platforms Perpetuate Banking Style Learning? Integrating Technology For Activism Into Transformational Sustainability Education, Tina M. Garner

Leadership for Sustainability Education Comprehensive Papers

We live in a world that tends to be controlled by corporations. The public school system should be wary of the problems that corporate control has on education. Even though public schools should not have corporate influence, the fact remains that they do, and this perpetuates Freire's banking style learning. Through time, the corporate influence in education was through educational materials such as book sales. Since the decline of the use of books and the growth of the use of technologies, corporations have followed suit through the sales of Adaptive Learning Platforms. Through leveraging the technology which students enjoy using, …

The Energy Policy Act Of 2005: The Rapid Decline Of Jura Majestatis For Communities In Ohio, Alexander Krokus

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Since Nobel Prize recipient Svante Arrhenius realized that fossil fuel combustion increased CO2 emissions in our atmosphere in 1896, scientists and policy makers have acknowledged the calamitous potential for the oil and gas industry to render substantial deleterious effects on ecosystems. Yet in 2016, the U.S. utilized fossil fuels to facilitate 80.9% of all energy consumption.¹ Subsequent to the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vastly encouraged outside economic investment into our oil and gas infrastructure. Natural resources situated in geologic formations that possess low permeability, which were once considered previously inaccessible …

The Hidden Killer: Towards Regulating Railyard Diesel Particulate Matter Emissions In Oregon, Kevin Downing, Robert Mccullough, Eric Shierman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Diesel engines are the predominant choice when moving freight, particularly for the railroad industry. Compared to gasoline engines, diesel emits relatively few of the toxic compounds generally associated with internal combustion. However, diesel engines produce a disproportionate quantity of particulate aerosols. Airborne pollutants from locomotives and freight transferring equipment in railyards significantly impact the air quality of surrounding neighborhoods. We summarize the health impacts of diesel particulates emitted from railyards in Oregon. Using the most conservative range of the EPA's assessment, we calculate a Pigouvian Tax for the railroad companies to pay, totaling $624.24 per μg/m3 for each person in …

Re-Imagining Regulatory Approaches For Methane Emissions, Jongeun You

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took a step-back in regulating the methane released during natural gas extraction. In June 2016, the EPA issued the first federal regulations on methane, estimating methane emissions would decrease by a total of 510,000 short tons in 2025, with a potential net benefit of $160 million. Yet, in October 2018, the EPA released a new proposal that weakened the 2016 methane rules, estimating methane emissions would increase by a total of 380,000 short tons in 2025, with a potential saving of $484 million. This paper explores the EPA’s drastic change between 2016 and …

A Network Approach To Complex Problems: Understanding Collaborative Governance In Watershed Management, Allison Daniel

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

The complexity of current environmental problems poses a challenge to the field of public management. With multiple stressors acting on the earth’s natural systems, the likelihood that complex environmental problems will persist is undeniable. Traditional approaches to such problems follow a top-down method, often useful for problem management within public policy; however, it proves too rigid when considering the complexity of environmental policy. Recent literature points to the use of collaboration and coordination in addressing complex problems, whereby stakeholders accumulate knowledge and resources across a variety of fields. One such method is network governance, identified as a problem-solving approach capable …

Hydrologic Trends And Spatial Relationships Of Stream Temperature And Discharge In Urbanizing Watersheds In The Portland Metropolitan Area Of The Pacific Northwest, Emma Lee Brenneman

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores various relationships of streamflow and stream temperature over the Portland Metropolitan area in two urbanizing watersheds. Four stream temperature and discharge metrics were derived from USGS stream gauges in the Tualatin River and Johnson Creek watersheds and were analyzed for monotonic trends. Additionally, this study explored the sensitivity of stream temperature to air temperature and streamflow to assess where locations throughout the watershed may be more sensitive to these changes. Relationships among stream temperature, air temperature, and streamflow were assessed using linear and nonlinear bivariate regression for yearly values and summer months. Additionally, this study seeks to …

Glacial Meltwater Modeling To Simulate Streamflow And Lake Levels In Taylor Valley, Antarctica, Julian M. Cross, Andrew G. Fountain

Student Research Symposium

The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) are the largest ice-free region (4,500 km²) in Antarctica. The MDV are a polar desert with an average annual temperature of -18˚C and minimal precipitation, < 50 mm w.e. a^-1. In Taylor Valley (77°35’ S, 163°00’ E), a closed-basin, perennially ice-covered lakes occupy the valley floor. Ephemeral streams transfer glacier meltwater for ~10 weeks each summer. Glacial meltwater accounts for nearly the total inflow to these streams and lakes, groundwater is essentially non-existent. A microbially-dominated ecosystem in Taylor Valley depends on glacier runoff and thus is highly sensitive to changes to the hydroclimatic regime. A model …

Traffic Signal Consensus Control, Gerardo Lafferriere

TREC Final Reports

We introduce a model for traffic signal management based on network consensus control principles. The underlying principle in a consensus approach is that traffic signal cycles are adjusted in a distributed way so as to achieve desirable ratios of queue lengths throughout the street network. This approach tends to reduce traffic congestion due to queue saturation at any particular city block and it appears less susceptible to congestion due to unexpected traffic loads on the street grid. We developed simulation tools based on the MATLAB computing environment to analyze the use of the mathematical consensus approach to manage the signal …

A Decentralized Network Consensus Control Approach For Urban Traffic Signal Optimization, Gerardo Lafferriere

TREC Project Briefs

Automobile traffic congestion in urban areas is a worsening problem that comes with significant economic and social costs. This report offers a new approach to urban congestion management through traffic signal control.

Contrasting Local And Long-Range-Transported Warm Ice-Nucleating Particles During An Atmospheric River In Coastal California, Usa, Andrew C. Martin, Gavin Cornwell, Charlotte M. Beall, Forest Cannon, Sean Reilly, Bas Schapp, Dolan Lucero, Jessie Creamean, F. Martin Ralph, Hari T. Mix, Kimberly Prather

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have been found to influence the amount, phase and efficiency of precipitation from winter storms, including atmospheric rivers. Warm INPs, those that initiate freezing at temperatures warmer than −10ºC, are thought to be particularly impactful because they can create primary ice in mixed-phase clouds, enhancing precipitation efficiency. The dominant sources of warm INPs during atmospheric rivers, the role of meteorology in modulating transport and injection of warm INPs into atmospheric river clouds, and the impact of warm INPs on mixed-phase cloud properties are not well-understood. In this case study, time-resolved precipitation samples were collected during an atmospheric …

The Complexities Of Open Data, Hector Dominguez

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Hector Dominguez is the current Open Data Coordinator at the City of Portland, and there are several lessons learned and strategies developed in the several months of work in this position. Hector will share some challenges on creating trusted and reliable data and information services, as well as the opportunities to work with Urban Data to resolve city challenges and to support achieving the City's goals in the coming years.

In this talk, Hector will share how modeling and defining the right metrics are not the only factors to implementing a citywide program, but rather, how ethics, communications and strategy …

Evaluating The Impact And Distribution Of Stormwater Green Infrastructure On Watershed Outflow, Benjamin Fahy

Dissertations and Theses

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) has become a popular method for flood mitigation as it can prevent runoff from entering streams during heavy precipitation. In this study, a recently developed neighborhood in Gresham, Oregon hosts a comparison of various GSI projects on runoff dynamics. The study site includes dispersed GSI (rain gardens, retention chambers, green streets) and centralized GSI (bioswales, detention ponds, detention pipes). For the 2017-2018 water year, hourly rainfall and observed discharge data is used to calibrate the EPA's Stormwater Management Model to simulate rainfall-runoff dynamics, achieving a Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.75 and Probability Bias statistic of 3.3%. A …

When Pets Become Pests: The Role Of The Exotic Pet Trade In Producing Invasive Vertebrate Animals, Julie I. Lockwood, Dustin J. Welbourne, Christina M. Romagosa, Phillip Cassey, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Angela L. Strecker, Brian Leung, Oliver C. Stringham, Bradley Udell, Diane J. Episcopio-Sturgeon, Michael F. Tlusty, James Sinclair, Michael R. Springborn, Elizabeth F. Plenaar, Andrew L. Rhyne, Reuben Keller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The annual trade in exotic vertebrates as pets is a multi-billion- dollar global business. Thousands of species, and tens of millions of individual animals, are shipped both internationally and within countries to satisfy this demand. Most research on the exotic pet trade has focused on its contribution to native biodiversity loss and disease spread. Here, we synthesize information across taxa and research disciplines to document the exotic pet trade’s contribution to vertebrate biological invasions. We show recent and substantial worldwide growth in the number of non-native animal populations introduced via this invasion pathway, which demonstrates a strong potential to increase …

A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Livelihood, Environmental And Health Benefits Of A Large Scale, Christina K. Barstow, Randall Bluffstone, Kyle Silon, Karl Linden, Evan Thomas

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Public health interventions targeting contaminated drinking water and indoor air pollution may help to reduce two of the leading causes of death among children under 5 in Rwanda - diarrhea and pneumonia. These interventions also have the potential to provide economic benefits, including reduction in expenditures on fuelwood and time spent on fuelwood collection, environmental benefits through reductions in deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, and additional economic benefits attributable to health impacts. We evaluate one such large scale intervention, the Tubeho Neza program in Western Rwanda using a cost-benefit analysis. This paper estimates monetized program benefits related to fuelwood savings, …

Monitoring Annoyance And Stress Effects Of Wind Turbines On Nearby Residents: A Comparison Of U.S. And European Samples, Gundula Hübner, Johannes Pohl, Ben Hoen, Jeremy Firestone, Joseph Rand, Brian Elliott, Ryan Haac

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

As wind turbines and the number of wind projects scale throughout the world, a growing number of individuals might be affected by these structures. For some people, wind turbine sounds and their effects on the landscape can be annoying and could even prompt stress reactions. This comparative study analyzed a combined sample of survey respondents from the U.S., Germany and Switzerland. It utilized a newly developed assessment scale (ASScale) to reliably characterize these stress-impacted individuals living within populations near turbines. Findings indicate low prevalence of annoyance, stress symptoms and coping strategies. Noise annoyance stress (NASScale) was negatively correlated with the …

Rescaling Air Quality Management: An Assessment Of Local Air Quality Authorities In The United States, Kelsea A. Schumacher, Vivek Shandas

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Institutional design for local air quality management is an underdeveloped area for research and practice. Although the United States has more than a century of organizational experience managing air quality at the Federal level, the recent years have seen a surge of interest in addressing municipal-scale solutions. Without information about the institutional designs, governance structures, and implications of localizing air quality management, practitioners may face challenges reducing population exposure to air pollutants. We offer a US national perspective on managing local air quality by assessing and surveying 117 local air quality authorities identified by the National Association of Clean Air …

Floodplains Provide Important Amphibian Habitat Despite Multiple Ecological Threats, Meredith Holgerson, Adam Duarte, Marc P. Hayes, Michael J. Adams, Julie A. Tyson, Keith A. Douville, Angela L. Strecker

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Floodplain ponds and wetlands are productive and biodiverse ecosystems, yet they face multiple threats including altered hydrology, land use change, and non-native species. Protecting and restoring important floodplain ecosystems requires understanding how organisms use these habitats and respond to altered environmental conditions. We developed Bayesian models to evaluate occupancy of six amphibian species across 103 off-channel aquatic habitats in the Chehalis River floodplain, Washington State, USA. The basin has been altered by changes in land use, reduced river–wetland connections, and the establishment of non-native American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana = Lithobates catesbeianus) and centrarchid fishes, all of which we hypothesized could …

A Comparison Of Neighborhood-Scale Interventions To Alleviate Urban Heat In Doha, Qatar, Salim Ferwati, Cynthia Skelhorn, Vivek Shandas, Yasuyo Makido

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent evidence suggests that many densely populated areas of the world will be uninhabitable in the coming century due to the depletion of resources, climate change, and increasing urbanization. This poses serious questions regarding the actions that require immediate attention, and opportunities to stave off massive losses of infrastructure, populations, and financial investments. The present study utilizes microclimate modeling to examine the role of landscape features as they affect ambient temperatures in one of the fastest growing regions of the world: Doha, Qatar. By modeling three study sites around Doha—one highly urbanized, one newly urbanizing, and one coastal low-density urbanized—the …

Classification Of Aerosol Population Type And Cloud Condensation Nuclei Properties In A Coastal California Littoral Environment Using An Unsupervised Cluster Model, Samuel A. Atwood, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Paul J. Demott, Markus D. Petters, Gavin Cornwell, Andrew C. Martin, Kathryn A. Moore

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aerosol particle and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) measurements from a littoral location on the northern coast of California at Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory (BML) are presented for approximately six weeks of observations during the boreal winter–spring as part of the CalWater-2015 field campaign. The nature and variability of surface (marine boundary layer, MBL) aerosol populations were evaluated by classifying observations into periods of similar aerosol and meteorological characteristics using an unsupervised cluster model to derive distinct littoral aerosol population types and link them to source regions. Such classifications support efforts to understand the impact of changing aerosol properties on precipitation …