Current Research Projects
Environmental justice implications of urban forestry programs in the U.S.
Funded by U.S. Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry Cost-Share Grant. PI: Lincoln R. Larson. Co-Investigators: Bethany Cutts, Louie Rivers. $414,131
Through a case study in Louisville, KY and engagement with urban forestry experts from across the country, we are developing best practices and a toolkit for equitable urban forestry/urban greening programs
Project components include: resident & community surveys and interviews; identification of spatial correlates of tree planting; social media analysis of public sentiment toward urban trees; focus groups with urban forestry experts; development of best practices and practitioner/policy-maker toolkit
Environmental justice, gentrification, and health equity in city climate adaptation
Understanding connections between how cities plan to adapt to climate change and implications for health equity and gentrification potential
We have analyzed 88 cities’ climate adaptation plans—assessing the extent that cities discuss/plan for health equity, gentrification, and other environmental justice concerns in developing their climate adaptation plans
Paper 1 currently under review
Paper 2 in prep
Future work includes developing case studies to examine these issues in-depth
Funding pending and in prep
Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) — Climate Justice
SCIPP is a NOAA RISA program focused on four states in the south central region: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana
PIs: Rachel Riley, University of Oklahoma (OU), Mark Shafer (OU), Barry Keim (LSU)
Co-PIs: Darrian Bertrand (OU), Vincent Brown (LSU), Caylah Cruickshank (OU), Aimee Franklin (OU), Lauren Mullenbach (OU), Cynthia Lyle (Texas A&M), Sascha Petersen (Adaptation International)
SCIPP leads community-focused work in the region, helping communities adapt to a changing climate and extreme weather events
I am leading a team assessing SCIPP region cities’ adherence to climate justice principles in their climate adaptation planning. This is an ongoing, four-year project being conducted in three cities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas.
Other SCIPP projects include assisting region communities in planning for climate change, assessing the role of governance in climate planning, and understanding changing patterns in extreme weather.
St. Louis residents’ perceptions of city parks and vacant lot redevelopment
Understanding resident perceptions of local parks, vacant lots, and gentrification
The first paper in this project was published recently here.
Parks and Homelessness
Funded by UNCG’s College of Health and Human Sciences Faculty Research Grant. PI: Ben Hickerson. Co-Investigator: Nick Pitas. $4,950.
Understanding the general public’s perspectives on responsibility of parks and recreation resources to address homelessness
Past Research
Environmental justice implications of new park development in Raleigh, North Carolina
Funded by NC State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement Incentive Grants Program. PI: Lincoln R. Larson. Co-Investigators: Aaron Hipp, Celen Pasalar. $9,981.
Leading engagement efforts with local universities, regarding the master planning process for the development of Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, NC.
Using an environmental justice frame, we will gather self-reported park use data, perceptions of future neighborhood change, and public engagement data from students, faculty, and staff at nearby universities (e.g., UNC, NC State, community colleges, and HBCUs).
Dissertation: Environmental justice implications of urban park discourse, development, and use
The overall purpose of my dissertation was to understand the 1) discourses prevalent in urban park praxis, 2) portrayal of urban park projects in print news media, and 3) the alignment of the first two with empirical evidence from urban park users in St. Louis, Missouri. This multi-scalar project began with a critical discourse analysis at the national level, followed by a comparative thematic analysis of news articles about park investments in three cities, and concluded with a single-city study of park and public space users.
Article 1: Discourse analysis of messaging about urban parks and other public spaces
Dominant voices in urban park praxis are pushing an inordinately positive message, crowding out discussions of equity and gentrification, and affecting how parks are built.
Article 2: Comparative thematic analysis of print media portrayal of urban park investments
This study used Growth Machine to analyze press coverage of three park projects in three cities
Article 3: Assessing the impact of intergroup contact in parks and public spaces on people’s levels of trust
This paper failed to find much evidence that park use is related to interracial contact in parks or that interracial contact in parks was associated to trust, thereby disconfirming some elements of the dominant urban park discourse (see Article 1).