Dead Grass: Foreclosure and the Production of Space in Maricopa County, Arizona

A wide variety of economic, social, political and moral explanations have been given for why the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s occurred. Yet many of the tensions provoked by the uptick in foreclosure proceedings, their resolution during the foreclosure recovery process, and the insight they provide into the function of American space remain unexplored. This article uses Lefebvre’s The Production of Space as a framework to explore the spatial and ecological contradictions of suburban development in Maricopa County (Phoenix), Arizona, USA, and the ways those contradictions were drawn into relief by the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s. Analysis through this Lefebvrian lens uncovers symbolic meanings assigned to urban ecologies and their ruliness as a means of drawing legal devices such as nuisance laws and housing codes into a more-than-human frenzy. This article follows a growing tradition of scholarship that employs Lefebvrian insights to identify and explicate urban planning dilemmas

Spanning Boundaries in an Arizona Watershed Partnership: Information Networks as Tools for Entrenchment or Ties for Collaboration?

The need to develop successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in sustainable resource management. Our goal is to evaluate the relationship between information networks and conflict in the context of collaborative groundwater management in the rapidly growing central highland region of Arizona. In this region, water-management conflicts have emerged because of stakeholders’ differing geographic perspectives and competing scientific claims. Using social network analyses, we explored the extent to which the Verde River Basin Partnership (VRBP), which was charged with developing and sharing scientific information, has contributed to collaboration in the region. To accomplish this, we examined the role that this stakeholder partnership plays in reinforcing or overcoming the geographic, ideological, expert, and power conflicts among its members. Focusing on information sharing, we tested the extent to which several theoretically important elements of successful collaboration were evidenced by data from the VRBP. The structure of information sharing provides insight into ways in which barriers between diverse perspectives might be retained and elucidates weaknesses in the partnership. To characterize information sharing, we examined interaction ties among individuals with different geographic concerns, hierarchical scales of interest, belief systems (about science, the environment, and the role of the partnership), and self-identified expertise types. Results showed that the partnership’s information-sharing network spans most of these boundaries. Based on current theories of collaboration, we would expect the partnership network to be conducive to collaboration. We found that information exchanges are limited by differences in connection patterns across actor expertise and environmental-belief systems. Actors who view scientists as advocates are significantly more likely to occupy boundary-spanning positions, that appear to impede the success of the partnership. This analysis challenges widely held assumptions about the properties that separate successful collaborations from those that are less successful. It has implications for our understanding of the factors that constrain information processing, knowledge production, and collective-action capability in institutions

Is a clean river fun for all? Recognizing social vulnerability in watershed planning

Watershed planning can lead to policy innovation and action toward environmental protection. However, groups often suffer from low engagement with communities that experience disparate impacts from flooding and water pollution. This can limit the capacity of watershed efforts to dismantle pernicious forms of social inequality. As a result, the benefits of environmental changes often flow to more empowered residents, short-changing the power of watershed-based planning as a tool to transform ecological, economic, and social relationships. The objectives of this paper are to assess whether the worldview of watershed planning actors are sufficiently attuned to local patterns of social vulnerability and whether locally significant patterns of social vulnerability can be adequately differentiated using conventional data sources. Drawing from 35 in-depth interviews with watershed planners and community stakeholders in the Milwaukee River Basin (WI, USA), we identify five unique definitions of social vulnerability. Watershed planners in our sample articulate a narrower range of social vulnerability definitions than other participants. All five definitions emphasize spatial and demographic characteristics consistent with existing ways of measuring social vulnerability. However, existing measures do not adequately differentiate among the spatio-temporal dynamics used to distinguish definitions. In response, we develop two new social vulnerability measures. The combination of interviews and demographic analyses in this study provides an assessment technique that can help watershed planners (a) understand the limits of their own conceptualization of social vulnerability and (b) acknowledge the importance of place-based vulnerabilities that may otherwise be obscured. We conclude by discussing how our methods can be a useful tool for identifying opportunities to disrupt social vulnerability in a watershed by evaluating how issue frames, outreach messages, and engagement tactics. The approach allows watershed planners to shift their own culture in order to consider socially vulnerable populations comprehensively.Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant NA14OAR4170095Ope

Ego Network Properties as a Way to Reveal Conflict in Collaboration\u27s Clothing

A need for successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in natural resource management. Several qualities of “successful” partnerships have been identified but few empirical studies have tested these claims against the information sharing structure of “unsuccessful” partnerships. This paper examines the ego networks of members in a partnership that has not successfully reached its goals as an illustration of the ways in which external ties relate to attitudes and relationships within a partnership. By focusing on information sharing frequencies, member ideologies, and power structure among organizations involved in a groundwater controversy, we test the extent to which the process and outcomes of participation align with conditions often used to indicate “success”. Results show that individuals who think that science is objective maintain information sharing ego networks that include a larger proportion of ties outside of the partnership than those who consider science to be less certain. Individuals who consider themselves a member of the partnership are more central to the network of organizations invited to join the partnership and maintain a greater proportions of unique ties relative to ties common across multiple actors. This case study challenges widely held assumptions about the properties of successful collaborations and supports claims that scientific discourse can be used to obscure debates over values

Identifying Attributes for a Virtual Community-based Disaster Preparedness Hub: Examples from two coastal communities

Remote tourism-dependent communities are particularly vulnerable to crises and disasters. Using the ORID (Observe, Reflect, Interpret, Decide) method, we identified key attributes for a virtual disaster preparedness hub by conducting focus groups with a variety of stakeholders in both Ocracoke and Hatteras. Participants were asked to ‘observe’ different types of online hubs from other communities, ‘reflect’ on the pros and cons of these hubs, ‘interpret’ ways to create a hub that would be most beneficial to their community, and ‘decide’ on the best management practices of implementing an online hub. Throughout this process, it became clear that when planning and implementing a disaster hub, it is important to focus on the user experience, allowing for ease of access to information during times of crisis. Additionally, it is important for communities to use a hub to facilitate their disaster preparation and recovery, rather than to replace current infrastructure

Spanning Boundaries in an Arizona Watershed Partnership: Information Networks as Tools for Entrenchment or Ties for Collaboration?

The need to develop successful collaborative strategies is an enduring problem in sustainable resource management. Our goal is to evaluate the relationship between information networks and conflict in the context of collaborative groundwater management in the rapidly growing central highland region of Arizona. In this region, water-management conflicts have emerged because of stakeholders' differing geographic perspectives and competing scientific claims. Using social network analyses, we explored the extent to which the Verde River Basin Partnership (VRBP), which was charged with developing and sharing scientific information, has contributed to collaboration in the region. To accomplish this, we examined the role that this stakeholder partnership plays in reinforcing or overcoming the geographic, ideological, expert, and power conflicts among its members. Focusing on information sharing, we tested the extent to which several theoretically important elements of successful collaboration were evidenced by data from the VRBP. The structure of information sharing provides insight into ways in which barriers between diverse perspectives might be retained and elucidates weaknesses in the partnership. To characterize information sharing, we examined interaction ties among individuals with different geographic concerns, hierarchical scales of interest, belief systems (about science, the environment, and the role of the partnership), and self-identified expertise types. Results showed that the partnership's information-sharing network spans most of these boundaries. Based on current theories of collaboration, we would expect the partnership network to be conducive to collaboration. We found that information exchanges are limited by differences in connection patterns across actor expertise and environmental-belief systems. Actors who view scientists as advocates are significantly more likely to occupy boundary-spanning positions, that appear to impede the success of the partnership. This analysis challenges widely held assumptions about the properties that separate successful collaborations from those that are less successful. It has implications for our understanding of the factors that constrain information processing, knowledge production, and collective-action capability in institutions

Flow diagram indicating methodological framework and resulting measures of social vulnerability.

<p>Gray arrows and boxes show intermediate data processing steps. Black arrows and boxes connote results.</p

Interview classification and definitions of social vulnerability.

<p>Interview classification and definitions of social vulnerability.</p

Summary of measures of vulnerability developed in this paper and their uses to inform planning.

<p>Summary of measures of vulnerability developed in this paper and their uses to inform planning.</p