Research has established the phenomenon of cultural annihilation: the notion that the members of cultures can percieve a sense of loss when geography upon which their cultures is uilt undergoes a dramatic destructive change.  This report examines prevailing literature to uncover existing and expected ways that climate change will impact cultures, specifically damaging the shared history that is infused into the geographic traits that make up a culture's homeland.  It examines three case studies - Native American tribes in Alaska, the island nation of the Maldives, and the country of the Netherlands - to highlight vulnerabilities that these three cultures face due to global climate change, discussing climate changes unique to each case study that puts a particular culture at risk.   This review concludes that cultural annihilation is most likely in cultures with specialized climate environment, less developed economies, and close connections to their land and environment.  This review establishes the tremendous and pressing vulnerabilities that climate change poses to cultures, and emphasizes that this phenomenon is an often-overlooked consequence to a changing climate - a consequence that deserves further dedicated study. 

Green certification and eco-labels are new policy tools to help firms reduce their impact on the environment. This project focuses on the most prominent eco-label for built environments (buildings): Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which is sponsored by the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org). It has four tiers or levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified – with Platinum being the most demanding in its environmental requirement (that is, most expensive to comply with but also the most prestigious), and Certified being the least demanding.

Given that these builders have opportunity to seek the least demanding LEED certification and yet enjoy the reputational gains of being “LEED certified,” it is puzzling to see that LEED Gold is the most popular tier within the LEED system. Therefore, the question we pose is: Why have most builders opted for LEED Gold certification although it is neither the least expensive option nor the most environmentally friendly of the four LEED certification levels?

To explore this question, we are conducting interviews with a nationwide sample of LEED certified building owners, property managers, property-affiliates, and/or company representatives regarding their choice of a specific LEED level. We are seeking qualitative feedback to assess the adoption strategy and cost-benefit analysis institutions partake when selecting LEED certification levels. The expected result is that LEED Gold’s proliferation is based on the nexus of financial incentives and green signaling. Achieving the highest return on investment, in the shortest time frame, while signaling a credible green commitment at the second highest level of LEED certification possible. We hope these interviews in aggregate will allow us to offer a more nuanced explanation for the popularity of LEED Gold among all LEED certification levels.
 

Forest cover is declining at an unsustainable rate as development frontiers expand. Though the amount of conservation science being conducted and policy being implemented is ever increasing, forests continue to decline faster than ever before. The conservation science being conducted and policy being implemented is often ineffective and inadequate for conserving forests. To address the issues surrounding forest conservation science and policy, I investigated factors that would improve conservation outcomes. Through conducting a literature review, and participating in conservation fieldwork, I identified four main factors: (1) diversity of stakeholders in the policy development process; (2) increased communication between conservation scientists and policymakers; (3) integration of multiple current conservation science methods and technology; and (4) utilizing place-based analyses to increase data. Through exploring these factors I provide recommendations for improving policy planning and development. In conjunction with increased diversity in stakeholders, conservation efficacy would improve with increased communication between scientists and policymakers. This includes increased access to scientific literature for policymakers. Additionally, scientists developing policy may benefit from integrating current science and technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones) which can strengthen and expedite the process of data collection and forest monitoring. Finally, through increasing the data, policy can be tailored to meet the needs of that location. Through integrating these approaches the policy developed and implemented will be more effective in conserving forests.

Privately Owned Public Spaces, abbreviated as "POPS", refer to spaces that are owned, developed and maintained by private developers, but legally required by a city’s zoning or similar regulatory arrangements to be available for public use. The objective of this study is to develop an objective evaluation tool to assess the level of public value in terms of economic and social success of POPS. The study evaluates and surveys 6 existing Seattle POPS sites in light of the requirements for their development laid out in the Downtown Amenity Standards as case studies to determine that the physical design and typology of a POPS can have a direct impact on the frequency of use and quality and character of space. Then, the study lays out a series of recommendations to improve existing POPS and guide the development of such spaces in the future. The hypothesis was tested by asking what physical design characteristics impact the frequency of use of POPS. These characteristics were identified in two categories: quantitative variables and qualitative variables. Quantitative variables include size, adjacencies, seating, frontage, vegetation, and hardscape. Qualitative variables include accessibility, visibility, usage, comfort, and aesthetics. Methodology included a literature review of existing analysis of history and policies of POPS in other cities and urban designing approaches. The study also entailed interviews with public administrators of the POPS program in Seattle, as well as City of Seattle council members and private developers. Lastly, the study engaged basic physical inventory of site characteristics, and an informal usage count. The final products of this study are illustrated (photographs, diagrams) case studies of 6 downtown Seattle POPS and a qualitative and quantitative checklist of items to evaluate a POPS site both pre- and post-construction.