Urbanization projects
Urban activities greatly impact natural systems. Water, air, nutrient cycling, climate, land-use, and flora and fauna are all affected -- and, in turn, urban systems are affected by nature. ASU's urbanization research examines the complex patterns and dynamics created by interactions between urban and natural systems and the responses at scales ranging from local to global.
100 Cities Project: Sensing for Solutions – Bridging Cities and Science »
This project uses remote-sensing technology to detect patterns of urbanization and their environmental consequences in 100 cities across the globe.
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An Integrated Framework for Creation and Assessment of Sustainable Construction Processes »
This project seeks to develop sustainability metrics related to construction operations which can be used by construction companies throughout the nation and beyond.
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Assessing Decadal Climate Change Impacts on Urban Populations in the Southwestern USA »
In the cities of the southwestern United States, regional warming combined with increasing urban populations and the resulting urban heat effect are straining limited supplies of electricity and water. Cities can be designed that are more resilient, minimizing human impacts and energy and water stresses, under scenarios of decadal warming trends. The project is to modify existing models to transform the design of urban neighborhoods to be be quantifiably more adaptive and resilient to all types of decadal climate change.
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Bob Ramsey Executive Education Program »
The Bob Ramsey Executive Education Program provides innovative professional development programs and customized services that build the capacity of people and organizations that serve the public. The Certificate in Public Administration for International Leaders includes topics such as leadership, collaboration, public-private partnerships, community conflict resolutions, pollution, urban challenges and opportunities, information technology, and electronic government practices.
Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) »
Through interdisciplinary projects integrating natural sciences, social science, and engineering, the Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research project examines the effects of urbanization on a desert ecosystem and vice versa.
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Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) »
The Decision Center for a Desert City conducts climate, water, and decision research and develops innovative tools to bridge the boundary between scientists and decision makers and put their work into the hands of those whose concern is for the sustainable future of Greater Phoenix.
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Decision Theater (DT) »
The Decision Theater is an immersive, interactive, 3D-visualization facility for collaborative decision making.
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Ecological Homogenization of Urban America »
This research will transform scientific understanding of an important and increasingly common ecosystem type ("suburbia") and the consequences to carbon storage and nitrogen pollution at multiple scales. In addition, it will advance understanding of how humans perceive, value and manage their surroundings.
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Ecosystem Response to N and Organic C Deposition from the Urban Atmosphere »
The "Urban Air" project studies the exchange of chemical elements between land and atmosphere in urban systems.
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Energize Phoenix »
Energize Phoenix will transform the neighborhoods and commercial districts along a 10-mile stretch of the Phoenix METRO Light Rail line into a Green Rail Corridor that will become a model of energy efficiency and sustainability.
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Health Impacts of Energy Retrofits »
This project - officially titled Health Performance, Benefit-Cost, and Cost Effectiveness of Green Retrofit Housing for Low-Income Seniors in Phoenix, Arizona - examines how incorporating an array of building changes of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Green Retrofit Program can result in improved indoor environmental quality and health of elderly residents. Rather than reviewing individual building features, the study assesses a green retrofit package in its entirety, and incorporates formal benefit-cost and cost effectiveness calculations on individual health and healthcare costs.
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Herberger Institute Research Center »
The Center supports collaborative and creative research in design and the arts. Some of the Center's work includes creating consumer-driven product concepts that improve society and the environment, understanding the interconnections between urban design and energy demand and on emerging models for the post-petroleum city, and supporting organizations, neighborhoods, and professionals in their efforts to improve the growth of quality affordable homes and sustainable communities.
Impacts of Urbanization on Nitrogen Biogeochemistry in Xeric Ecosystems »
This research will help identify sources of surface water and groundwater nitrate contamination in arid and semi-arid deserts.
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Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training in Urban Ecology (IGERT) »
The IGERT training program in urban ecology prepares young scientists to be flexible, adept at linking science with social issues, and work collaboratively, so that they might apply interdisciplinary knowledge in the world of tomorrow.
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International Collaboration to Advance Sustainability Science in the US and Mexico »
Building on complementary skills and perspectives on problems that transcend political borders, we propose to form a new research collaboration between Arizona State University and the Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico (Director, Dr. Dominguez Perez-Tejada) based in the principles and aims of sustainability science.
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Land and Water Use Decision-Making and Ecosystem Services along a Southwestern Socio-Ecological Gradient »
The principal question of this proposal is to understand how decision makers respond to and make land and water use decisions based on measured and preferred ecosystem services on the wildland-rural-urban fringe in the arid Southwest.
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Multi-scale Effects of Climate Variability and Change on Hydrologic Regimes, Ecosystem Function, and Community Structure in a Desert Stream and Its Catchment »
The primary objective of this project is to understand how long-term climate variability and change influence the structure and function of desert streams via effects on short-term responses to hydrologic disturbance.
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Multiscale Modeling of Urban Atmospheres in a Changing Climate »
This project will develop models to simulate the urban atmosphere and its interaction with ambient climate and atmospheric circulation occurring on spatial scales which are much larger than cities.
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Partnership for Research in Spatial Modeling (PRISM) »
PRISM is the focal point at Arizona State University for interdisciplinary research in modeling and visualization to permit intelligent analysis and create spatial and dynamic knowledge. Some of PRISM's work includes geospatial modeling, modeling of urban environments, cloud development modeling, and 3D modeling such as that exhibited in ASU's Decision Theater.
Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS) »
This survey studies the relationships between people and the natural environment in the Phoenix metro area.
Population Dynamics, Center for (CePoD) »
CePoD is a transdisciplinary research center drawing scholars who are interested in broad aspects of population research. The center is located in the Phoenix metropolitan area, a vibrant, rapidly growing urban center of the American Southwest. We pursue novel avenues of population research in local, regional, national and international settings.
RCN-SEES for Urban Sustainability: Research Coordination and Synthesis for a Transformative Future »
The Urban Sustainability RCN will begin with a broadly interdisciplinary core group of academics, students, postdocs, policy-makers, city planners, managers, and other action-focused urban players representing 14 cities in various stages of transition.
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Reinvent Phoenix: Cultivating Equity, Engagement, Economic Development and Design Excellence with TOD »
The City of Phoenix will create a new model for urban development – one that increases quality of life while maintaining desirability and attainability for the entire spectrum of incomes, ages, family sizes, and physical and developmental abilities along the light rail corridor.
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Sino-US Center of Conservation, Energy and Sustainability Science (SUCCESS) »
SUCCESS provides a platform for international collaborations, particularly on use-inspired, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research relevant to sustainability issues that occur during the socioeconomic development in Inner Mongolia and its neighboring regions.
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Spatial Refueling Patterns of Drivers of Alternative-Fuel and Conventional Vehicles »
This research project will survey drivers about their refueling patterns and behaviors to better understand the assumptions underlying the deployment of new stations for alternative-fuel vehicles.
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Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family »
Through research, educational outreach, advocacy and design innovation, the ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family supports organizations, neighborhoods, and professionals in their efforts to improve the growth of quality affordable homes and sustainable communities.
Surface Flux for Cracked and Intact Clays for Ponded and Sloped Conditions »
This study addresses key remaining questions rarely, or only superficially, discussed in the geotechnical literature, and is geared toward transformation of surface flux modeling capabilities for cracked and intact clays.
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Sustainable Infrastructures for Energy and Water Supply (SINEWS) »
The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability and resilience of the water and energy systems, and to offer solutions that span infrastructure design, management of the physical environment, and socio-economic policy.
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Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative (SPI) »
The ASU Sustainable Phosphorus Initiative (SPI) seeks to build a credible scientific consensus on the dimensions of the phosphorus sustainability challenge, catalyze an interdisciplinary global network focused on phosphorus sustainability, and design and motivate institutional, commercial, and consumer behavior change for conservation and recycling to establish phosphorus sustainability.
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Sustainable Tourism, Center for (MTRC) »
The Center for Sustainable Tourism, formerly the Megapolitan Tourism Research Center, is devoted to studying the role of tourism in community development in order to strengthen its contribution to viable economic, social, and environmental systems, especially in megapolitan regions around the world.
SWCC Based Models for Realistic Simulation of Swell Behavior of Expansive Soils »
Current engineering practice for determining the volume change behavior of unsaturated expansive soils are mostly based on simplified tests, and correlations with index properties. Such practices can lead to uneconomical and distress prone foundation designs. Hence, there is a fundamental research need to review the current characterization practices in expansive soils and to revise them to reflect the current state of knowledge of unsaturated soil mechanics. The final outcome of this research is the development of methods for better predictions of expansive soil properties using unsaturated soil mechanics principles.
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The Integrity of Geosynthetic Elements of Waste Containment Barrier Systems Subject to Large Settlement and Seismic Loading »
The objective of this project is to investigate the ability of modern landfill waste containment systems to maintain their integrity when subject to waste settlement, earthquake loading, and loads from operational practices.
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Urban Form and Energy Use Explored Through Dynamic Networked Infrastructure Model »
Engineering and design of urban form is an important strategy for managing climate change and other environmental impacts of energy, as well as being key to the livability of cities. This project aims to clarify connections between urban form and use and energy use in the built environment and transport.
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Urban Innovation, Center for »
The mission of the Center is to improve the quality of urban life in neighborhoods, cities, and urban regions by promoting innovation in governance, policy, and management. The Center contributes to the goal of "advancing urban governance in a global context" in the School of Public Affairs. Its research and outreach are both local and global.
Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) »
This collaborative project is building greater knowledge and understanding of the bidirectional interactions between global environmental change and cities, present at local, regional, and global scales, and integrating the work of decision makers, practitioners, and academic researchers.
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