Vivek Shandas

Innovation and Climate Action Planning

Problem: Cities play a fundamental role in the production of greenhouse gases and, as a result, are places where proactive mitigation and adaptation can occur. While increasing numbers of municipalities have revised or developed climate action plans (CAPs), our understanding of the impetus to plan for the climate challenge, processes for creating climate plans, and their resultant form remains limited. Purpose: We analyzed municipal CAPs to understand both their processes and their products, including the extent to which they represent innovation in planning. We ask the following questions: 1) Why do localities decide to undertake climate action planning, and what are the plans’ chief drivers and obstacles? 2) How have localities structured their climate action planning processes? 3) How frequently are particular types of actions included in local CAPs, and how do localities determine which to adopt? Methods: We read and evaluated the content of 20 CAPs from municipalities of a range of sizes and locations using a scoring matrix, reconciling coding differences. We also interviewed 16 individuals associated with 15 of the plans and coded notes from these interviews to identify themes relevant to the processes of plan development. Results and conclusions: There is great diversity in what constitutes a CAP. Some plans are motivational documents, while others are extremely detailed implementation plans with concrete goals, clear objectives, and well-reasoned methods. The decision to prepare a CAP reflects the existence of local political will and leadership, which also influences the planning processes used, the form of the resultant plan, and the actions it identifies. We found CAPs to rely heavily on well-known land use and transportation solutions to the climate challenge such as enhanced transit, compact community design, and green building codes, to be implemented both by local government and the broader community. Informants reported that their CAPs favored actions that were highly visible (e.g., tree planting) or produced immediate results (e.g., energy or cost savings from weatherization). Takeaway for practice: The CAPs we studied were special-purpose plans, and planning departments and planning commissions were not central to plan development in the majority of cases reviewed here. We advise professional planners to involve themselves more in CAP processes. Research support: We obtained funding for this project through a faculty enhancement grant from Portland State University.

Spatial Variations of Single-Family Residential Water Consumption in Portland, Oregon

Although water demand theories identify price structures, technology, and individual behavior as determinants of water demand, limited theoretical or empirical evidence suggests a link between urban development patterns and water use. To assess the role of urban development patterns on water demand, we used GIS and statistical models to analyze single-family residential water consumption in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. Our results show that residential water consumption per household at the census block group scale is best explained by average building size, followed by building density and building age, with low water consumption areas clustering together and typically located in high-density and older neighborhoods. Accounting for spatial dependence among residuals, explanatory variables explain up to 87% of variations in water consumption. Our results help to develop a water demand framework that incorporates existing factors with urban development policies to more effectively manage limited water and land resources.

Valuing ecological systems and services

Making trade-offs between ecological services and other contributors to human well-being is a difficult but critical process that requires valuation. This allows both better recognition of the ecological, social, and economic trade-offs and also allows us to bill those who use up or destroy ecological services and reward those that produce or enhance them. It also aids improved ecosystems policy. In this paper we clarify some of the controversies in defining the contributions to human well-being from functioning ecosystems, many of which people are not even aware of. We go on to describe the applicability of the various valuation methods that can be used in estimating the benefits of ecosystem services. Finally, we describe some recent case studies and lay out the research agenda for ecosystem services analysis, modeling, and valuation going forward.

Integrating Urban Form and Demographics in Water-Demand Management: An Empirical Case Study of Portland, Oregon

Theories of water-resource management suggest that water demand is mediated by three interacting factors: technological innovations, pricing structures, and individual behaviors and demographics. While these factors provide useful insights for ongoing water conservation strategies, such as outreach and education campaigns, pricing schemes, and incentives aimed at residential developments, few studies examine the relationship between land-use planning and water demand. This paper reports the results of a study on land-use zoning and development-induced water consumption in Portland, Oregon. We used a geographic information system to integrate land-use records, water-consumption data, sociodemographics, and property tax information for over 122 550 parcels of varying land uses, and employed multiregression analyses to measure the effect of urban form—as measured by both the type and the structure of land uses—on regional water demand. While our results corroborate previous studies that link demographic characteristics to water demand, we go further by identifying zoning and structural attributes of the households as explaining over 93% of water use in all parcels. The paper concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges for coordinating water-resource management with land-use planning.

Why Land Planners and Water Managers Don't Talk to One Another and Why They Should!

Increasing evidence demonstrates that unsustainable land use practices result in human-induced drought conditions, and inadequate water supplies constrain land development in growing cities. Nonetheless, organizational barriers impair coordinated land and water management. Land planning is strongly influenced by political realities and interest groups, while water management is focused on the single-minded goal of providing reliable water for future development, often set apart from other priorities. Survey results from Portland, OR, and Phoenix, AZ, show that water managers and land planners are generally aware of the physical interconnections between land and water, but there is little cross-sector involvement in the two cities. Focusing on shared concerns about outdoor water use, climate variability, and water-sensitive urban design is a fruitful first step in integrating the practices of land planning and water management for climate adaptation and sustainable resource use.

Vulnerability of Water Systems to the Effects of Climate Change and Urbanization: A Comparison of Phoenix, Arizona and Portland, Oregon (USA)

The coupled processes of climate change and urbanization pose challenges for water resource management in cities worldwide. Comparing the vulnerabilities of water systems in Phoenix, Arizona and Portland, Oregon, this paper examines (1) exposures to these stressors, (2) sensitivities to the associated impacts, and (3) adaptive capacities for responding to realized or anticipated impacts. Based on a case study and survey-based approach, common points of vulnerability include: rising exposures to drier, warmer summers, and suburban growth; increasing sensitivities based on demand hardening; and limited capacities due to institutional and pro-growth pressures. Yet each region also exhibits unique vulnerabilities. Comparatively, Portland shows: amplified exposures to seasonal climatic extremes, heightened sensitivity based on less diversified municipal water sources and policies that favor more trees and other irrigated vegetation, and diminished adaptive capacities because of limited attention to demand management and climate planning for water resources. Phoenix exhibits elevated exposure from rapid growth, heightened sensitivities due to high water demands and widespread increases in residential and commercial uses, and limited adaptive capacities due to weak land use planning and “smart growth” strategies. Unique points of vulnerability suggest pathways for adapting to urban-environmental change, whether through water management or land planning. Greater coordination between the land and water sectors would substantially reduce vulnerabilities in the study regions and beyond.

Incorporating ecosystem-based management into urban environmental policy: a case study from western Washington

The worldwide growth of urban settlements affects the management of natural resources and has prompted scholars in the natural and social sciences to call for ecosystem-based approaches to the management of human settlements. While considerable literature exists on the definition, theoretical underpinnings and methods for applying ecosystem-based management (EBM), few studies have examined whether urban and regional planners consider elements of EBM when developing environmental policy. This study assesses the extent to which planners apply EBM principles when reviewing scientific information for environmental policies in western Washington State. Using a working definition of EBM based on existing literature, the study conducts a content analysis of interview data from 42 environmental planners working for cities in western Washington, and asks what elements of EBM are considered as they review scientific information. The results suggest that elements related to monitoring, inter-agency co-operation, ecological boundaries, values and to a limited extent, adaptive management, are considered when planners review scientific literature for environmental policy development. However, urban and regional planners struggle with, or do not explicitly consider, the elements of scale, ecological integrity and organisational change when developing local environmental policy. The paper concludes with a description of why some elements of EBM are considered and why others are not, and offers suggestions for improving urban environmental policy development through application of EBM principles.

Using best available science to protect critical areas in Washington state: challenges and barriers to planners

Urban development has profound impacts on ecological patterns and processes making the scientific information required for developing environmental ordinances central for mitigating these negative ecological impacts. Washington State requires that planners use the best available science (BAS) to formulate land use ordinances as part of the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA). We present empirical findings describing challenges to planners in defining “best available science” and using BAS to create local ordinances that balance development needs with natural resource protection. We interviewed city and county planners (and their consultants) in western Washington to determine what they find useful about BAS, whether or not BAS is applicable to their jurisdictions, and what constraints they experience in reviewing and using BAS to create or update their land use ordinances. Our results suggest that applying the BAS requirement is particularly difficult in urban areas. Specifically, planners had difficulty applying results from research conducted in systems dissimilar to their urban landscapes. These challenges to planners were exacerbated by (1) a lack of resources and (2) political tensions among stakeholders with competing values in urban settings. We conclude with recommendations for improving the consideration of science in statewide land-use planning.

Neighborhood change and the role of environmental stewardship: a case study of green infrastructure for stormwater in the City of Portland, Oregon, USA

Throughout the history of cities, the ecological landscape has often been buried, removed, or taken for granted. A recent recognition that humans are part of the global ecosystem, and that human actions both cause and are affected by ecological change, brings with it an awareness of the value of nature in cities and of natural systems on which cities depend. The feedbacks between humans and their environment within an urban context can have profound implications for the growth of and change in cities, yet there is a limited understanding of the interactions between biophysical changes in cities and the implications of these changes on the quality of life for residents. The application of a coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) framework provides a timely and fruitful opportunity to enrich the theory, methods, and understanding of these feedbacks and interconnections. Here, I integrated biophysical and social dimensions relevant to managing urban stormwater by examining a case study of Portland, Oregon, USA. I used empirical data from a pre-post survey (2-yr span) of residents in eight urban neighborhoods to describe feedbacks and interactions between a localized biophysical change in the form of a large-scale decentralized stormwater program and the resulting changes in resident’s perceptions in neighborhoods undergoing rapid change. My findings corroborate earlier findings suggesting that people with higher income and education levels are more likely to participate in stewardship actions. The results also suggest an overall and initial negative perception of neighborhoods facilities and services immediately following the construction of decentralized stormwater facilities, but conversely, high levels of anticipation for their construction. By describing these findings through a CHANS framework, I make explicit the importance of integrating scientific understanding, governance efforts, and human behaviors to address acute urban environmental challenges.

Developing High-Resolution Descriptions of Urban Heat Islands: A Public Health Imperative

Example of the process of creating buffers on a raster. The input data (A) is converted from vector to a raster that contains pixel values representing the results for specified distances. In this example, the raw data has the values 1 (green, representing canopy) and 0 (white, representing not-canopy). The output describes the percentage of land cover classified as canopy.