Nature and Society Relations Commons^™

Waterfront Ecologies: Coastal Resilience And Urbanization In Cali-Baja Region, Agniya Seliuzhytskaya

McNair Summer Research Program

This research contributes to “Waterfront Ecologies,” a binational initiative addressing urbanization and climate change along the San Diego-Tijuana coastal area and watershed systems. By examining the threshold between land and water, this paper investigates the impacts of sea-level rise, coastal erosion, watershed contamination, and rapid urban development. The study employs a case-study methodology focused on coastal conditions within the Cali-Baja region. Through this framework, it reviews planning history, environmental reports, and past precedent studies. Methodologically, the project produces analytical drawings and comprehensive base maps that synthesize regional environmental systems, urban patterns, topography, hydrology, and infrastructure.

Preliminary findings reveal that post-colonial …

Casual Killing In The Home: Ecological Citizenship And The Micro-Geopolitics Of Mosquito Cohabitation, Orlando Woods, Junxi Qian

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article explores how the visceral acts of being bitten by and killing mosquitoes can underpin the formation of ecological citizenship. This form of citizenship is premised on human-nature entanglement and raises questions concerning how the rights and responsibilities stemming from such entanglement become distributed across the public and private domains. As a space in which mosquito cohabitation is contested daily, the home is a key site through which ecological citizenship can be forged and theoretical debates concerning urban political ecology can be extended. Human-mosquito entanglements in the home can reveal the limits of public pest management strategies, the partiality …

Planification Against Extractivism: Towards A Democratic Agroecological Planification Against Agrarian Capitalism In A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), Jacobo Rivas Sanmartín, Rubén Camilo Lois González, Paula Noya Vázquez

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This article analyses the expansion of vineyards in the parish of San Xiao de Vea, in the municipality of A Estrada (Galicia, Spain), as a concrete manifestation of extractive agrarian restructuring under contemporary capitalism. Drawing on land-use data, socio-metabolic indicators, and qualitative testimonies, it shows how financialization, speculative land practices, and state selectivity reorganize rural space, degrade mixed farming systems, and intensify contradictions between capital accumulation and the ecological and social conditions of reproduction. The article argues that existing green planning frameworks, shaped by market logics and technocratic indicators, are structurally incapable of confronting these dynamics. As an alternative, it …

Gradients Of Abandonment, William Tatman

Geography ETDs

As urban-rural disparities drive depopulation in rural areas worldwide, local strategies emerge as pathways for resilience. Research on Ojika, a Japanese island that has lost 75% of its population since the 1960s, reveals an Abandonment Gradient: a nuanced pattern of disuse adapted to modern polycrises. Extending the concept of "lying fallow" to homes and infrastructure, this thesis focuses on abandonment practices that reflect complex realities of labor, capital, and climate uncertainty. Rather than viewing depopulating communities as passive victims of out-migration, this paper argues they are critical sites for generating crisis response. Communally crafted attitudes toward unused space and more-than-human …

Who Bears The Burden: Tax Incidence And Water Governance In The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (Mrgcd) Within Bernalillo County, Michael W. Wilson

Economics ETDs

This study examines how property-value-based assessments within a large western irrigation and flood-control district distribute fiscal burdens across property owners. The empirical analysis is restricted to Bernalillo County within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), using parcel-level administrative data from fiscal year 2025 merged with 2021 irrigation service records and geospatial information. The analysis classifies 34,397 parcels by irrigation status, agricultural valuation enrollment, and primary use to evaluate whether non-irrigating residential and commercial parcels, including renter-occupied properties that lack direct irrigation access, bear a disproportionate share of financial responsibility for a district whose first listed priority under their primary …

Montana’S Outfitting Industry - 2024 Economic Contribution And Industry-Client Analysis, Carter Bermingham, Kara Grau, Emma Keinath-Lopez

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Montana's outfitting and guiding industry remains a vital economic sector driven primarily by nonresident visitors, generating an estimated $314 million in direct expenditures in 2024 and supporting more than $1.27 billion in total economic output when indirect and induced effects are included. This report, an update to ITRR's 2017 industry analysis, draws on a survey of outfitting businesses alongside ITRR's annual nonresident visitor survey to examine roughly 980,000 clients served by an estimated 1,500 outfitting and guiding entities statewide. While wildlife viewing and sightseeing attracted the largest share of clients, fishing generated the most revenue despite serving a smaller portion …

Meeting & Convention Tourism In Montana, Glenna Hartman, Elena Bigart, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

As meeting and convention travel continues its post-pandemic rebound, Montana still lacks a comprehensive picture of this growing sector's reach and impact. This report offers the state's first statewide analysis of meetings and conventions — examining their economic contribution to local communities, the factors that make Montana an attractive destination, the scale and geographic spread of events across the state, and how Montana compares to national industry benchmarks.

The findings paint a promising picture: 75% of meeting planners say they'd recommend Montana, and over half plan to bring events to the state in the next one to three years. Montana's …

Economic Contribution Of 2024/2025 Averaged Nonresident Travel Spending In Montana Travel Regions And Counties, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Money spent by travelers in Montana has a direct effect on businesses where it is spent, and it ripples throughout the state’s economy from there. Statewide, spending by nonresident visitors (averaged over two years - 2024 and 2025) totaled $5.36 billion. This report details the methods and results of the economic impact analyses for each of Montana’s six travel regions, as well as analyses for counties in which nonresident travelers spent approximately $50 million or more.

Tracing The Flow Of Value In Ecotourism: A Case Study Of Lekki Conservation Center, Lagos, Nigeria, Queen Oluwatobi Olafadehan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the flow of value in ecotourism at Lekki Conservation Center (LCC) in Lagos, Nigeria, using a political ecology framework to analyze how economic benefits, participation opportunities, and environmental impacts are distributed among different community groups. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 community members, participant observation, and photographic documentation, the study investigates how surrounding communities perceive and experience ecotourism, how revenue is understood to be distributed, and in what ways communities are included in or excluded from conservation decision-making. The findings reveal that ecotourism at LCC generates benefits that are unevenly distributed, that community participation in governance remains …

The Montana Travel Industry - 2025 Summary, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

In 2025, Montana welcomed 13.2 million visitors — a 4% decline from 2024 — who collectively spent $5.6 billion across the state. Tourism supported 52,610 jobs (1 in 11 statewide), generated $360 million in state and local taxes, and saved the average Montana household over $740 in taxes. Glacier Country led regional spending at $1.79 billion, followed by Yellowstone Country at $1.34 billion. The typical visitor was 57.8 years old, traveled in a group of 2.2, stayed 5.2 nights, and arrived primarily by car (74%). Top origin states were Washington, Idaho, and North Dakota. Visitors were drawn most by mountains …

2025 Estimates - Nonresident Visitation, Expenditures, And Economic Contribution, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Montana welcomed an estimated 13.24 million nonresident visitors in 2025, generating $5.64 billion in traveler expenditures and contributing an estimated $7.11 billion in total economic output to the state's economy. Nonresident spending supported approximately 52,620 jobs and generated $360.4 million in state and local tax revenues. Fuel (21%) and restaurant/bar spending (20%) accounted for the largest shares of visitor expenditures, followed by lodging, outfitter/guide services, and groceries. Summer travel remained the dominant season, with the third quarter accounting for 45% of annual visitation and 54% of total expenditures. Vacation travelers represented the largest visitor segment (41%) and had the highest …

Canyon Ferry Reservoir: A Regional Recreation System In Montana, Kika Bradford, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This study examines recreation use, visitor behavior, and infrastructure demands at Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana, using a combination of visitor surveys, automated counts, and systematic observations conducted between February and October of 2025. Results indicate that Canyon Ferry functions primarily as a high-frequency, locally driven recreation system characterized by repeat visitation, small travel groups, and short-duration trips. Use is highly concentrated at a limited number of sites and during predictable peak periods, creating localized infrastructure pressures despite relatively stable overall visitation levels. Findings show that parking areas and campgrounds experience more consistent capacity constraints than boat ramps, and that perceptions …

Montana Resident Report: Rural Montana And Tribal Communities And Activities, Q1 2026, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This study was designed to better understand residents’ perceptions of smaller, rural towns in Montana, along with their level of interest in visiting and participating in activities in American Indian communities across the state. The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) conducts resident studies on a quarterly basis to better understand current topics throughout the state, with resident travel routinely serving as one of those topics. Recent efforts at the state level have focused on expanding Montana’s tribal tourism industry to provide economic benefits and to inspire visitation to Indian Country.

Respondents were asked to comment on how much …

Engineering Immunity? Biotechnical Governance And The Experimental Failures Of Project Wolbachia In Singapore, Siew Ying Shee, Orlando Woods, Sayd Randle

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper introduces the idea of ‘experimental failure’ to critically interrogate the limits of engineering biological systems for urban governance. Whilst experimentation through projects related to smart cities and eco-cities has garnered significant attention, biotechnical experiments––which manipulate living organisms through technology––remain underexplored. Unlike interventions leveraging non-living, inanimate systems, engineering life must contend with ecological ‘unruliness’ and social uncertainties. These complexities often resist straightforward quantification and exceed conventional evaluation frameworks, demanding a rethinking of what constitutes ‘success’ and ‘failure’ in such interventions. Drawing on ethnographic research with public health officers, pest management professionals and residents in Singapore, we analyse the government-led …

Urban Sacred Grove: A Visioning For Collective Care, Preservation, Environmental Justice, And Resilience, Oluwadara A. Ojugbele

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My capstone explores how the concept of sacred groves—a community-based practice of conserving forest areas for cultural, spiritual, or religious purposes—can be reimagined as a framework for urban environmental stewardship and community care. Sacred groves have historically varied across time and place but consistently serve as protected spaces that honor divine forces, ancestors, and community values. In the Yoruba context, groves demarcate lush forests as abodes for oriṣas (divine forces) and spiritual beings, often containing shrines and artifacts that embody cultural beliefs. My capstone draws on the sacred grove concept and aims to illustrate how urban communities might adopt sacred …

Erosion And Accretion: Mobilities Of Sand, People, And Memory At Queer Riis Beach, Jah Elyse Sayers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The People’s Beach at Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula of Queens, New York, is a vibrant place of queer and trans public-space placemaking—and especially Black and working class queer and trans placemaking. A distinct queer ecology emerges in the interplay of the dynamic movement of the barrier island, queer and trans—especially queer and trans Afro-diasporic—mobilities. This queer ecology, while articulated with, also defies and exceeds logics and workings of private property. In response to a convergence of pressures on Black, queer, trans, and working-class placemaking on the beach site in the 2020s, beachgoers have mobilized longstanding provisional socialities …

A Pedra Da Aldeia: Reativações Waiwai Entre A Antropologia E A Arqueologia De Longa Duração, Carlos Machado Dias Jr., Kanhera Renato Xerew, Alexandre Aniceto Souza, Jaime Xamen Wai Wai, Justino Sarmento Rezende, Claide De Paula Moraes

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

O artigo analisa um episódio ocorrido na comunidade waiwai do Jatapuzinho, na Terra Indígena Trombetas-Mapuera, envolvendo o encontro do professor Renato Kanhera Waiwai com um antigo Pote de Pedra encontrado às margens do rio Jatapuzinho durante um período de estiagem. A partir de uma experiência etnográfica conduzida pelo próprio Kanhera, os autores refletem sobre os efeitos cosmopolíticos, históricos e ontológicos mobilizados pelo artefacto, articulando antropologia, arqueologia e perspectivas indígenas em um exercício de escrita coletiva. O texto argumenta que o Pote de Pedra não constitui apenas um vestígio arqueológico, mas um agente ativo na reativação de memórias, sonhos, narrativas e …

On The Brink Of Silence: Ethnographic Perspectives On Hunting And Forest Life Among The Awa Guajá In Eastern Amazonia, Uirá Garcia

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

The central theme of this article basically resides in the relationship established by indigenous peoples between their hunting practices and the forest. Indigenous ways of connecting ‘hunting’ and ‘forest’ necessarily pass through other modes of knowing, only marginally – if it all – dependent on vision. On the contrary, sounds, smells and even dreams are, for many South American indigenous collectives, more trustworthy indices than what the eye sees. This article divides into two parts. In the first, I set out the main ideas related to the anthropological study of hunting in Amazonia at a conceptual level. In the second, …

El Amor En Los Tiempos Del Caucho. Pactos Matrimoniales Y Trabajo Coercitivo Entre Awajún Y Patrones En La Amazonía Peruana, Silvia Romio

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Este trabajo presenta un análisis etnohistórico de los cambios en la jefatura awajún del Alto Marañón a inicios del siglo XX, centrándose en sus relaciones de dependencia, poder y trabajo forzoso con los comerciantes mestizos, en su mayoría patrones del caucho establecidos en la zona. El ensayo describe la transformación gradual de las relaciones cotidianas con estos foráneos, quienes pasaron de ser simples aliados comerciales a convertirse en capitanes y, finalmente, en yernos-patrones mediante el matrimonio con una o más hijas del jefe indígena. A través de la figura del yerno-patrón, se produjo una progresiva incorporación del “blanco” a …

Visualizing Ozone Pollution In The Denver Metro Area Using A Bioindicator Garden, Ella K. Mathews, Hillary Hamann, Julie Morris, Erica L. Larson

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Since the industrial revolution, widespread fossil fuel combustion has significantly increased atmospheric pollution. The combustion of fossil fuels releases nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which form tropospheric (ground-level) ozone when exposed to sunlight. Ozone directly harms plants by disrupting their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and carry out photosynthesis. Bioindicator species are plants that have visible responses to environmental conditions, such as ozone, and can act as “canaries in the coal mine,” indicating the health of their environment. In this study, we used a garden of ozone bioindicator species (ozone garden) as a cost-effective tool …