Distance from Neighborhood Green Infrastructure (GI) in Detroit and Impact on Perception of Safety

In Detroit, green infrastructure (GI) projects are seen as an opportunity to increase both the livability and sustainability of the city. From a livability perspective, GI could help alleviate flooding. Over the last few years there was an increasing intensity of storms in Detroit due to climate change (Li & Davis, 2009). In addition to stormwater management, GI is a component of broader revitalization efforts in the city to improve the environment, quality of life, enhance safety and beautification of the city. Current study draws on data gathered as part of a larger transdisciplinary investigation of GI in Detroit (Nassauer et al. 2015). This investigation considers the effects of distance from project pilot GI sites on the perception of safety. To understand the effectiveness of the GI projects, Professor Nassauer et al surveyed nearby residents about their perceptions of four pilot bioretention flower gardens and their potential effects on the surrounding neighborhood. The survey included visualizations of six vacant lots within two clusters approximately 1.5 miles apart in Detroit’s Warrendale neighborhood. The current study investigates how safe the pilots of design look after installation of the four bioretention flower gardens, and also, how these pilots of design will affect the perception of safety in the whole neighborhood. Results of the study showed that residents found bioretention flower garden design appeared safer than mowed lots and control sites which were an image of a typical vacant lot in Detroit. Furthermore, compared to the control sites, results of the survey showed that, residents believed that the perception of safety would improve after installation of the bioretention flower gardens in the neighborhood. However I did not find a difference in perception of safety between 100 meters and 100 to 200 meters radii from each garden . I considered other factors such as social support in the neighborhood, observation of crime and demographic variables, that may have affect the perception of safety in a neighborhood as well.Master of Landscape ArchitectureSchool for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of Michiganhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137965/1/Chamanara_Sanaz_Thesis_2017.pd

Revitalizing Urban Gardens

As a result of urban growth, most of the gardens in the city of Shiraz, Iran, are now replaced by urban structures, causing urban environmental problems and affecting the quality of life of inhabitants. This paper attempts to introduce productive landscapes to achieve sustainable urban development in Shiraz. We propose strategies for the organized management of gardens in the “Ghasr-Dasht” region, the only remaining urban gardens in Shiraz. The aim of this paper is to conserve the Ghasr-Dasht gardens and to reestablish Shiraz’s identity as a garden city. We study the effect of rehabilitation of the traditional gardens, in conjunction with the TDR approach, on improvement of urban ecological, social, and environmental qualities in the city.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120308/1/Chamanara-Kazemeini_RevitalizingUrbanGardens.pd

Environmental Justice and Governance Dynamics of Supply Chains in the Livestock Sector

In 2006, the United Nations published Livestock’s Long Shadow, a landmark study that documented the global environmental impacts associated with livestock production (Steinfeld et al., 2006). Since then, academic studies, popular publications, and Hollywood documentaries (e.g., Cowspiracy, Before the Flood, What the Health) have conveyed the heavy burden unsustainable livestock consumption levels have on the environment and society. Despite this notable attention, there has been little effort to understand the distributive local environmental impacts, especially where burdens follow familiar lines of vulnerability. This dissertation contributes to both research and practice by addressing this critical challenge. Through five chapters prepared as journal articles, this dissertation 1) Identify and measure the location and size of ~15,700 pig and cattle CAFOs across the U.S. using high resolution remote sensing techniques, and systematically clarify their relationship to local air quality measures and the socio-demographic characteristics of adjacent communities; 2) Map a specific beef supply chain, and construct linkages with beef suppliers and sub-suppliers at high geographic specificity, and clarify supply chain’s relationship to California’s hotspot of PM2.5 and the environmental and health cost of living across the production phases of supply chains for nearby communities; and 3) Develop a new approach to quantify power structure across an entire supply chain, considering both internal and external nodes for strengthening the relationships in the chain in order to induce change to the environmental and social outcomes of the supply chain. Intellectual Merit: This dissertation represents a sustained effort to combine fields exploring Environmental Justice (EJ) with those exploring Supply Chain Governance in pursuit of a deeper knowledge of social and environmental impacts that need change. It seeks to explore avenues to reshape the future of supply chain governance by first advancing a quantitative methodology to explore gaps and inefficiencies in the governance mechanism of supply chains and then by giving compelling empirical evidence for impact reduction and improvement of environmental and social outcomes through environmental governance. Broader Impacts: This dissertation provides rigorous, evidence-based decision support to the growing number of supply chains to build a more effective governance mechanism, one that will improve the environmental and social outcomes associated with the supply chain structure. The study also contributes to the public awareness of disproportionate localized environmental burdens, and it empowers marginalized communities affected by the supply chains.PHDResource Policy & Behavior PhDUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/172698/1/sanazch_1.pd