Current Research

Urban Resilience to Climate Change

Understanding the impacts of climate change on cities is critical to building a more sustainable, resilient future. In my research I adopt a systems-oriented approach that accounts for interdependencies between multiple urban systems and climate.

Water-Energy Nexus

Part of my research on urban resilience focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on the water-energy demand nexus. Using a multi-outcome modeling approach grounded in data science, this work aims to project the water and electricity demand into the future under climate change. Results from this work have been published in Applied Energy, Climatic Change, One Earth, and Scientific Data. A press release following the Climatic Change publication can be found here. A press release following the One Earth publication can be found here.

Household Air Conditioning Use

This research focused on projecting household air conditioning use into the future across the United States. Previous work has shown the connection between increased temperatures and air conditioning use. However, less is known about the impact climate change-induced warming will have on households. This work aimed to evaluate that connection on a nationwide scale. Results from this study have been published in Earth’s Future. A press release following the publication can be found here. A follow-up study using smart meter data from three US cities has recently been published in Socio-Economic Planning Sciences.

Socio-Environmental Systems

Accounting for people within urban systems is another critical aspect to building resilience. In my research, I leverage a variety of techniques to investigate the relationship between people, urban systems, and climate change.

Intra-City Water Consumption in the Midwest

Integrating qualitative interviews and data science techniques, this research project aims to understand the differences in intra-city water use within Indianapolis, Indiana. Combining climate data, demographics, and social norms provides a more holistic approach to understanding water consumption patterns and allows utilities to adopt a more community-based approach to water conservation interventions. The results from this study have been published in the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. This article was selected as the Editor’s Choice Paper in the December 2022 issue.

Archetypes of Water Conservation Attitudes in the Southwest

This study combines quantitative survey data with state-of-the-art unsupervised learning techniques. In particular, we leverage self-organized maps and hierarchical clustering to develop seven key archetypes of water conservation attitudes in the cities of Denver (Colorado), Las Vegas (Nevada), and Phoenix (Arizona). The aim of this study is to use these archetypes to better understand the prevalence of different attitudes towards water conservation in the cities, which can ultimately be used to improve any demand management interventions through more community-specific programs. The results from this study have been published in Water Resources Management. A press release following this publication can be found here. This work was featured in a webinar hosted by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).

Response to Anthropogenic Drought in the Southwest

This project leverages an agent-based modeling approach to simulate responses to anthropogenic droughts and climate change within Phoenix, Arizona. The model accounts for local attitudes towards water conservation and regional changes to water supply within the Colorado River Basin. The aim is to investigate the relationships that exist between people, water, and climate change, as well as any feedback loops that emerge from the simulation. Results from this study were published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. We are working on a follow-up study that encapsulates multiple cities within the Colorado River Basin, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation policies.