UT Shield

Highlights, News, and Updates

, Filed Under: Publications, Student Achievements

Miles Co-authors a Review of Climate Action Plans

Master’s student Miles Baker recently co-authored a paper in Climatic Change that conducted a qualitative review of 157 climate action plans in U.S. cities.

Read the paper here.

This review used qualitative content analysis to understand what sectors received the most focus and what actions cities implement most often, and identified recommendations for future climate planning.

, Filed Under: Presentations and Workshops, Student Achievements

SSPG showcased their work at PT2050.

Eight SSPG members presented their research at the Planet Texas 2050 Symposium, and hosted two workshops.

Maddy Richter-Atkinson & Deidra Miniard both presented as part of a panel on Data, Design, and Decision-Making: Integrating Research, Policy, and Community Engagement in Austin. Maddy talked about her work on the Climate Atlas and Deidra discussed the A2SI project.

Patrick Bixler was a panelist on Community-Based Participatory Research for Community Resilience: Lessons and Perspectives from Project CRESSLE to discuss how to establish partnerships between academia and community members.

Jacquie Moss served as a moderator for the panel: Get your Umbrella (Organizations) for Texas WEATHER: Whole-community Efforts to Adapt, Thrive, and Enhance Resilience. The panel discussed barriers communities face when planning for disasters and how to build capacity and resilience.

Miles Baker, Yuer Wang, Rodrigo Leal, and Matt Preisser presented posters. Miles presented on emergency preparedness and social connectedness, Yuer discussed how community-centered surveys can be a useful tool to engage residents and community organizations. Matt presented his research on flooding and resilience. Rodrigo’s poster discussed his work on heat in vulnerable communities.

SSPG also contributed to two workshops. In partnership with the UT-City Climate CoLab, Deidra helped organize a workshop to connect students with city departments to address city agency-driven research questions, attended by SSPG members Philip and Sarah. Maddy developed a workshop to evaluate the usability of the Climate Atlas for advocacy purposes.

, Filed Under: Award, Student Achievements

SSPG members part of NSF CHIRRP award.

Dr. Patrick Bixler is a Co-PI, and Jacquie Moss and Deidra Miniard serve as team members on the CHIRRP proposal (Confronting Hazards, Impacts and Risks for a Resilient Planet) recently awarded to the LBJ Extreme Weather Adaptation Lab. The project, Texas Weather: Whole-community Efforts to Adapt, THrive, and Enhance Resilience, aims to address the challenges communities face from weather-related disasters.

Texas WEATHER project will employ a co-production approach to develop research questions based on the reciprocal exchange of experiential and scientific knowledge between community partners, hazard scientists, and policy specialists. The project will unfold over two years to develop actionable solutions for community-scale resilience.

, Filed Under: Presentations and Workshops

Climate Atlas presented at AGU

Patrick presented the NASA-funded Climate Atlas at AGU, discussing how to combine community tacit knowledge with earth observation data to address urban flooding and heat.

The Atlas integrates interactive geospatial data layers that explore hazard exposure with social vulnerability metrics and local policy information in the form of a story map to serve as a tool for communities.

, Filed Under: Publications

Assessment of the Resilience Hub Network provided to the City of Austin

Patrick and Deidra co-authored a report summarizing the development and implementation of the Resilience Hub network in Austin, and outlined challenges facing the current network and identified future opportunities for expansion

Data from the latest Austin Area Sustainability Indicators community survey was included in the report. Findings on who is more or less prepared for emergency events as well as the location of hubs within low or high socially vulnerable areas provides critical context for further expansion of Resilience Hub networks and cooling centers across the city.

, Filed Under: Presentations and Workshops, Student Achievements

Summer REU students present their research.

Undergraduates Willow Nagai (University of Rochester) and Abby Couture (Wellesley College) joined the group as part of the NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates, lead by the Environmental Science Institute at UT Austin. During this 8-week program, Abby and Willow gained research experience by assisting with the lab’s research activities and conducting an independent research project. Students were co-advised by Dr. Patrick Bixler, Dr. Eric McDaniel, and Dr. Deidra Miniard.

Abby presented her project investigating climate anxiety, green space, and social vulnerability. She found that there was more greenspace in areas with more community relationships, and areas with more social vulnerability live in areas with less tree cover. Willow, presented her project investigating resilience hubs, cooling centers, and social vulnerability in the Austin area, finding that those with stronger community relationships are more prepared for emergencies.