Tischa Munoz-Erickson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Tischa Munoz-Erickson
npj Urban Sustainability, Jun 26, 2023
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 15, 2015
The urban book series, 2021
A fundamental systems approach is essential to advancing our understanding of how to address crit... more A fundamental systems approach is essential to advancing our understanding of how to address critical challenges caused by the intersection of urbanization and climate change. The social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) conceptual framework brings forward a systems perspective that considers the reality of cities as complex systems and provides a baseline for developing a science of, and practice for, cities. Given the urgency of issues we collectively face to improve livability, justice, sustainability, and resilience in cities, bringing a systems approach to resilience planning and policymaking is critical, as is development of positive visions and scenarios that can provide more realistic and systemic solutions. We provide a vision for more resilient urban futures that learns from coproduced scenario
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2020
The urban book series, 2021
The Urban Book Series is a resource for urban studies and geography research worldwide. It provid... more The Urban Book Series is a resource for urban studies and geography research worldwide. It provides a unique and innovative resource for the latest developments in the field, nurturing a comprehensive and encompassing publication venue for urban studies, urban geography, planning and regional development. The series publishes peer-reviewed volumes related to urbanization, sustainability, urban environments, sustainable urbanism, governance, globalization, urban and sustainable development, spatial and area studies, urban management, transport systems, urban infrastructure, urban dynamics, green cities and urban landscapes. It also invites research which documents urbanization processes and urban dynamics on a national, regional and local level, welcoming case studies, as well as comparative and applied research. The series will appeal to urbanists, geographers, planners, engineers, architects, policy makers, and to all of those interested in a wide-ranging overview of contemporary urban studies and innovations in the field. It accepts monographs, edited volumes and textbooks.
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Jul 1, 2021
Abstract Understanding the distribution of urban tree canopy cover and its relationship with soci... more Abstract Understanding the distribution of urban tree canopy cover and its relationship with socioeconomic characteristics is critical for informing urban planning and ecological research. However, most knowledge on this topic comes from studies in high-income countries (e.g., North America), and thus, little is known for other cultural, ecological, and political contexts. Here, we derived a high-spatial resolution (1.2 m) land-use/land-cover map for the tropical city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and examined how socioeconomic characteristics (i.e., population density, socioeconomic status, detached homes, homeownership, and householder’s age) relate to residential tree canopy cover at the neighborhood scale. We found that previous theory developed in North American cities applied only partially to Santo Domingo. Of the five socioeconomic variables examined, only two showed relationships with tree canopy consistent with previous findings from North American cities. In particular, socioeconomic status, one of the better-studied correlates of urban tree canopy, was not positively associated with tree canopy cover. At the same time, our new land-use/land-cover map revealed the presence of important areas with low levels of tree canopy cover, which may require additional attention by city planners. Our study reinforces the value of high-spatial resolution satellite data for examining urban areas, and highlights the need for further understanding the characteristics related to the distribution of tree canopy cover outside North America.
Social Science Research Network, 2022
Issues in Science and Technology, 2018
AGU Fall Meeting 2019, Dec 10, 2019
The synthesis of the contributions in this special issue about the tropical city of San Juan has ... more The synthesis of the contributions in this special issue about the tropical city of San Juan has resulted in five themes. First, the city is subject to multiple vulnerabilities, but socioeconomic factors and education level affect the perception of citizens to those vulnerabilities, even in the face of imminent threat. Second, in light of the social-ecological conditions of the city, how its citizens and institutions deal with knowledge to respond to vulnerabilities becomes critical to the adaptive capacity of the city. Third, the relationship between socioeconomic factors and green cover, which in 2002 covered 42% of the city, is not what has been reported for other temperate zone cities. In San Juan, neighborhoods with households of high socioeconomic level were not necessarily associated with greater green cover. However, in adjacent neighborhoods within the densely populated zones of the city, households of high socioeconomic level did preserve green cover better than households in lower socioeconomic-level neighborhoods. Fourth, tropical conditions such as climate may explain some of the unique aspects of the social-ecological system of San Juan. The most obvious is the exuberance of tropical biota in the city that not only forms novel species assemblages but also provides many ecological services, including food production for up to 60% of the members of particular neighborhoods. Ecosystem resilience is particularly high in aquatic and terrestrial ecological systems in San Juan. Fifth, it appears that the emergence of novel systems in the city represent adaptive responses to the social end ecological conditions in the city. We conclude that the study of a tropical city provides contrast to the prevailing literature on temperate and boreal cities and expands the suite of behaviors of urban social-ecological systems, thus advancing the dialogue on the functioning of cities in light of environmental change.
Elementa, 2020
Transitioning infrastructure governance for accelerating, increasingly uncertain, and increasingl... more Transitioning infrastructure governance for accelerating, increasingly uncertain, and increasingly complex environments is paramount for ensuring that critical and basic services are met during times of stability and instability. Yet the bureaucratic structures that dominate infrastructure organizations and their capacity to respond to increasing complexity remain poorly understood.To change infrastructure governance, it is critical to understand current conditions, the barriers to change, and the strategies needed to shift priorities and leadership strategy. The emergence of modern infrastructure bureaucratic and organizational structure is first explored. The need to rethink infrastructure as knowledge enterprises capable of making sense of changing conditions, and not simply as basic service providers, is discussed. Next, transformation of infrastructure governance is presented as both a challenge of organizational change as identity and power and leadership capacity to shift between stable and unstable conditions. Infrastructure bureaucracies should create capabilities to shift between periods of stability and instability, emphasizing flexibility where ad hoc teams are given power to make sense of changing conditions and steer the organization appropriately. Additionally, several critical factors must be addressed within organizational power structures, identities, and processes to facilitate change. Allowing infrastructure governance to persist in its current form is likely increasingly problematic for the future and may result in an increasing inability to maintain relevance.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Oct 31, 2021
The urban book series, 2021
The burgeoning development of coastal cities coupled with increasing exposure to sea level rise a... more The burgeoning development of coastal cities coupled with increasing exposure to sea level rise and extreme weather events has exacerbated the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure to floods. In order to make good flood risk reduction and resilience decisions, cities are interested in gaining better insights into what are perceived to be the "real" risks of floods. However, what counts as a good estimate of such risks is constructed through the design of a knowledge system that ratifies certain ideas and methods over others. We refer to knowledge systems as the organizational practices and routines that produce, validate and review, communicate, and use knowledge relevant to policy and decision-making. In this chapter, we conduct a knowledge system analysis of FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps in New York City. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy exposed in the national spotlight the shortcomings of how we calculate, map, and use knowledge about flood risk. Through this case study, we hope to demonstrate the value of knowledge systems analysis as a method to stress-test and identify the weaknesses of a knowledge system that warrant attention, as well as to inform potential methods ofupgrading or redesigning that system in support of building resilient cities.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 14, 2022
USAID Technical Report, 2019
Resilient Urban Futures, 2021
We describe the rationale and framework for developing scenarios of positive urban futures. The s... more We describe the rationale and framework for developing scenarios of positive urban futures. The scenario framework is conducted in participatory workshop settings and composed of three distinct scenario approaches that are used to (1) explore potential outcomes of existing planning goals (strategic scenarios), (2) articulate visions that address pressing resilience challenges (adaptive scenarios), and (3) envision radical departures from the status quo in the pursuit of sustainability and equity (transformative scenarios). A series of creative and analytical processes are used to engage the community in imagining, articulating, and scrutinizing visions and pathways of positive futures. The approach offers an alternative and complement to traditional forecasting techniques by applying inspirational stories to resilience research and practice.
npj Urban Sustainability, Jun 26, 2023
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 15, 2015
The urban book series, 2021
A fundamental systems approach is essential to advancing our understanding of how to address crit... more A fundamental systems approach is essential to advancing our understanding of how to address critical challenges caused by the intersection of urbanization and climate change. The social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) conceptual framework brings forward a systems perspective that considers the reality of cities as complex systems and provides a baseline for developing a science of, and practice for, cities. Given the urgency of issues we collectively face to improve livability, justice, sustainability, and resilience in cities, bringing a systems approach to resilience planning and policymaking is critical, as is development of positive visions and scenarios that can provide more realistic and systemic solutions. We provide a vision for more resilient urban futures that learns from coproduced scenario
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2020
The urban book series, 2021
The Urban Book Series is a resource for urban studies and geography research worldwide. It provid... more The Urban Book Series is a resource for urban studies and geography research worldwide. It provides a unique and innovative resource for the latest developments in the field, nurturing a comprehensive and encompassing publication venue for urban studies, urban geography, planning and regional development. The series publishes peer-reviewed volumes related to urbanization, sustainability, urban environments, sustainable urbanism, governance, globalization, urban and sustainable development, spatial and area studies, urban management, transport systems, urban infrastructure, urban dynamics, green cities and urban landscapes. It also invites research which documents urbanization processes and urban dynamics on a national, regional and local level, welcoming case studies, as well as comparative and applied research. The series will appeal to urbanists, geographers, planners, engineers, architects, policy makers, and to all of those interested in a wide-ranging overview of contemporary urban studies and innovations in the field. It accepts monographs, edited volumes and textbooks.
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Jul 1, 2021
Abstract Understanding the distribution of urban tree canopy cover and its relationship with soci... more Abstract Understanding the distribution of urban tree canopy cover and its relationship with socioeconomic characteristics is critical for informing urban planning and ecological research. However, most knowledge on this topic comes from studies in high-income countries (e.g., North America), and thus, little is known for other cultural, ecological, and political contexts. Here, we derived a high-spatial resolution (1.2 m) land-use/land-cover map for the tropical city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and examined how socioeconomic characteristics (i.e., population density, socioeconomic status, detached homes, homeownership, and householder’s age) relate to residential tree canopy cover at the neighborhood scale. We found that previous theory developed in North American cities applied only partially to Santo Domingo. Of the five socioeconomic variables examined, only two showed relationships with tree canopy consistent with previous findings from North American cities. In particular, socioeconomic status, one of the better-studied correlates of urban tree canopy, was not positively associated with tree canopy cover. At the same time, our new land-use/land-cover map revealed the presence of important areas with low levels of tree canopy cover, which may require additional attention by city planners. Our study reinforces the value of high-spatial resolution satellite data for examining urban areas, and highlights the need for further understanding the characteristics related to the distribution of tree canopy cover outside North America.
Social Science Research Network, 2022
Issues in Science and Technology, 2018
AGU Fall Meeting 2019, Dec 10, 2019
The synthesis of the contributions in this special issue about the tropical city of San Juan has ... more The synthesis of the contributions in this special issue about the tropical city of San Juan has resulted in five themes. First, the city is subject to multiple vulnerabilities, but socioeconomic factors and education level affect the perception of citizens to those vulnerabilities, even in the face of imminent threat. Second, in light of the social-ecological conditions of the city, how its citizens and institutions deal with knowledge to respond to vulnerabilities becomes critical to the adaptive capacity of the city. Third, the relationship between socioeconomic factors and green cover, which in 2002 covered 42% of the city, is not what has been reported for other temperate zone cities. In San Juan, neighborhoods with households of high socioeconomic level were not necessarily associated with greater green cover. However, in adjacent neighborhoods within the densely populated zones of the city, households of high socioeconomic level did preserve green cover better than households in lower socioeconomic-level neighborhoods. Fourth, tropical conditions such as climate may explain some of the unique aspects of the social-ecological system of San Juan. The most obvious is the exuberance of tropical biota in the city that not only forms novel species assemblages but also provides many ecological services, including food production for up to 60% of the members of particular neighborhoods. Ecosystem resilience is particularly high in aquatic and terrestrial ecological systems in San Juan. Fifth, it appears that the emergence of novel systems in the city represent adaptive responses to the social end ecological conditions in the city. We conclude that the study of a tropical city provides contrast to the prevailing literature on temperate and boreal cities and expands the suite of behaviors of urban social-ecological systems, thus advancing the dialogue on the functioning of cities in light of environmental change.
Elementa, 2020
Transitioning infrastructure governance for accelerating, increasingly uncertain, and increasingl... more Transitioning infrastructure governance for accelerating, increasingly uncertain, and increasingly complex environments is paramount for ensuring that critical and basic services are met during times of stability and instability. Yet the bureaucratic structures that dominate infrastructure organizations and their capacity to respond to increasing complexity remain poorly understood.To change infrastructure governance, it is critical to understand current conditions, the barriers to change, and the strategies needed to shift priorities and leadership strategy. The emergence of modern infrastructure bureaucratic and organizational structure is first explored. The need to rethink infrastructure as knowledge enterprises capable of making sense of changing conditions, and not simply as basic service providers, is discussed. Next, transformation of infrastructure governance is presented as both a challenge of organizational change as identity and power and leadership capacity to shift between stable and unstable conditions. Infrastructure bureaucracies should create capabilities to shift between periods of stability and instability, emphasizing flexibility where ad hoc teams are given power to make sense of changing conditions and steer the organization appropriately. Additionally, several critical factors must be addressed within organizational power structures, identities, and processes to facilitate change. Allowing infrastructure governance to persist in its current form is likely increasingly problematic for the future and may result in an increasing inability to maintain relevance.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Oct 31, 2021
The urban book series, 2021
The burgeoning development of coastal cities coupled with increasing exposure to sea level rise a... more The burgeoning development of coastal cities coupled with increasing exposure to sea level rise and extreme weather events has exacerbated the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure to floods. In order to make good flood risk reduction and resilience decisions, cities are interested in gaining better insights into what are perceived to be the "real" risks of floods. However, what counts as a good estimate of such risks is constructed through the design of a knowledge system that ratifies certain ideas and methods over others. We refer to knowledge systems as the organizational practices and routines that produce, validate and review, communicate, and use knowledge relevant to policy and decision-making. In this chapter, we conduct a knowledge system analysis of FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps in New York City. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy exposed in the national spotlight the shortcomings of how we calculate, map, and use knowledge about flood risk. Through this case study, we hope to demonstrate the value of knowledge systems analysis as a method to stress-test and identify the weaknesses of a knowledge system that warrant attention, as well as to inform potential methods ofupgrading or redesigning that system in support of building resilient cities.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 14, 2022
USAID Technical Report, 2019
Resilient Urban Futures, 2021
We describe the rationale and framework for developing scenarios of positive urban futures. The s... more We describe the rationale and framework for developing scenarios of positive urban futures. The scenario framework is conducted in participatory workshop settings and composed of three distinct scenario approaches that are used to (1) explore potential outcomes of existing planning goals (strategic scenarios), (2) articulate visions that address pressing resilience challenges (adaptive scenarios), and (3) envision radical departures from the status quo in the pursuit of sustainability and equity (transformative scenarios). A series of creative and analytical processes are used to engage the community in imagining, articulating, and scrutinizing visions and pathways of positive futures. The approach offers an alternative and complement to traditional forecasting techniques by applying inspirational stories to resilience research and practice.