Resilient Futures Podcast

Join co-hosts Dr. Alysha Helmrich and Dr. Todd Bridges as they introduce themselves and the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, reintroduce the show, and try to define resilience! (Previously named the Future Cities podcast -- same content, new branding!)

Academic research, no matter how scientific, can be deeply personal. Pursuing a PhD in a field like urban resilience demands an unwavering dedication to the topic driven by a genuine care for the issues at hand. While this passion can help motivate scholars, it is practically very difficult to bring one’s full self into academic endeavors, even when an institution explicitly recognizes that individuals’ unique perspectives and experiences can enrich their research and shed new light on complex problems. In this episode, Madison Horgan (PhD student, Arizona State University) interviews fellow ASU scholars Dr. Michele Clark and Taína Diaz-Reyes (PhD student) about how programs such as ASU’s Earth Systems Science for the Anthropocene Graduate Scholars Network (ESSA) can help create safe spaces for researchers, especially black, Indigenous, and people of color, who have unique and incredibly important perspectives on resilience and science, to bring their whole selves to their research.

Cultivating safe spaces for reflection and learning is especially important when working on place-based solutions alongside communities. Recognizing that urban resilience is not a one-size-fits-all concept, some scholars will partner with local communities to develop contextually relevant strategies. Solutions that are tailored to the specific challenges, needs, and aspirations of a particular community hold the potential for more meaningful and sustainable impact. However, to do this work well, researchers must learn how to ask the right questions to understand the nuances of each context and identify the most pressing issues that need to be addressed. Asking the right questions involves engaging with community members, stakeholders, and experts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interconnected factors that contribute to urban resilience. Further, we discuss what it means to use the term “solutions” in the context of wicked challenges.

Follow our guests on Twitter!
@ESSA_ASU, @ MicheleDClark1, and @Tai_rannosaurus

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Urban green infrastructure has the ability to make cities more sustainable. However, the exact implementation of green infrastructure and the choices that must be made during implementation are still topics for discussion. Recently, the Consolidated Urban Green Infrastructure Classification (CUGIC) was published as a tool to help policymakers, practitioners and researchers assess the state of their urban green infrastructure relevant to urban biodiversity, human well-being, and ecosystem services. In this podcast, Joeri Morpurgo (Leiden University), Dirk Voets (Head remote sensing, Cobra-Groeninzicht), Ciska van Alphen (Policy officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality), and Jacco Schuurkamp (Senior policy officer, Municipality The Hague) discuss the challenges and opportunities for implementing green infrastructure and how CUGIC helps!

Follow our guests on Twitter!
@DirkVoets, @JoeriMorpurgo @UniLeidenNews and @MultiGreen3.

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

On this month's episode of the Future Cities Podcast, Dr. Alysha Helmrich hosts Dr. Virginia Smith, who explores the future of urban hydrology. She covers a lot of ground! From the magnitude of flood impacts, the differences between hydrology and urban hydrology, the stakeholders in urban flooding, data collection and management for stormwater, integration of AI in stormwater management, and social vulnerability and equity. Tune in to hear all the details!

Of note, Virginia is hiring students! You can reach out directly via email or apply online at: https://www1.villanova.edu/university/engineering/faculty-research/Resilient-Water-Systems.html

Relevant Links to Research Articles:

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1038/s41598-020-65232-5.pdf

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1752-1688.12656

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000945

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000958

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000986

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-23214-9

Follow our guest on Twitter!
@VCRWSteam

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

On this month's episode of the Future Cities podcast, Alysha Helmrich interviews her colleague, Katherine (Kat) Shayne. Kat Shayne is the CEO of Can I Recycle This? (CIRT). A start-up homed in Athens, GA that helps cities, counties, businesses, and individuals properly dispose of products. Kat shares her own journey in sustainability that led her to creating CIRT and describes CIRT's mission and goals. You can learn more about CIRT at www.cirt.tech. You can also learn more about the Circularity Informatics Lab at https://www.circularityinformatics.org/.

Follow our guest on Twitter!
@CanIRecycleThis
@KatherineShayne

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dr. Catherine de Rivera leads a conversation with Carole Hardy and Eric Butler.  They dive into the social, ecological, and technological aspects of connectivity with an emphasis on the benefits of ecological connectivity. This podcast is rooted in work co-produced with researchers and practitioners from Portland, Oregon. This episode also features Sahan T. M. Dissanayake, Leslie Bliss-Ketchum, Jennifer Karps, and Lori Hennings. 

Referenced Articles:
Butler 2022
Hardy 2022

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dynamic Criticality is the idea that organizations must constantly reform their priorities in the face of volatile environments to maintain an adaptive state. Infrastructure research has yet to identify competencies that might aid infrastructure organizations in achieving dynamic criticality. Ryan Hoff discusses how competencies from other organizations can inform how infrastructure managers can better prepare their organizations to shift priorities in the face of disturbances.

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Suggested Readings:
Dynamic Criticality article
Susan Clark’s work
Mikhail Chester’s governance work
Mikhail Chester’s autopoiesis work
Book rec: The Black Swan by Taleb

Follow our guest on Twitter: @RyanMHoff

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Pervasive across infrastructure literature and discourse are the concepts of centralized, decentralized, and distributed systems, and there appears to be growing interest in how these configurations support or hinder adaptive and transformative capacities towards resilience. There does not appear to be a concerted effort to align how these concepts are used, and what different configurations mean for infrastructure systems. This is problematic because how infrastructure are structured and governed directly affects their capabilities to respond to increasing complexity. Dr. Alysha Helmrich recommends a multi-dimensional framing of de/centralization through a network-governance perspective where capabilities to shift between stability and instability are paramount and information is a critical mediator.

Articles:
De/centralization - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac0a4f
Leadership - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.791474/full

Follow our guest on Twitter: @AlyshaHelmrich

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dr. Christina H. Fuller shares her work on environmental health and justice, particularly examining how air quality varies down to a block-level across communities. She provides insights on conducting participatory research within frontline communities and advocating for more inclusive environmental justice research. Dr. Fuller also discusses her diverse work experiences from industry, non-profits, consulting, and academia.

Follow our guest on Twitter: @DrCHFuller

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Dr. Mikhail Chester hosts Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, whose work engages a multitude of disciplines (from engineers to urban planners to economists) to advance urban sustainability science and decision-making for water, energy, transportation, and land use systems. She explores how understanding and synthesizing these diverse systems surrounding our complex urban systems opens opportunities for future alternatives.

This episode is part of a continuing series: Infrastructure and the Anthropocene Forum.

Follow our hosts:
Dr. Mikhail Chester (@mikhailchester)
Dr. Stephanie Pincetl (@SPincetl)

Recommended Readings:
Transforming California: A Political History of Land Use and Development
The Nutmeg's Curse
Envisioning Real Utopias
Designs for the Pluriverse

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.