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2002 Progress Report: UMBC Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education
EPA Grant Number: R828182Center: Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE)
Center Director: Welty, Claire
Title: UMBC Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education
Investigators: Miller, Andrew
Institution: University of Maryland - Baltimore County
EPA Project Officer: Jones, Brandon
Project Period: June 1, 2001 through December 31, 2004
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 2001 through December 31, 2002
Project Amount: $1,944,996
RFA: Targeted Research Center (1999)
Research Category: Targeted Research , Environmental Statistics
Description:
Objective:The objective of the research project is to promote and integrate understanding of the environmental, social, and economic consequences of the transformation of the urban landscape through cooperative research, conferences and symposia, and support of university teaching programs.
Progress Summary:The original purpose of this grant was to provide start-up funding for the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE). These funds were not awarded for any specific research project. Since moving to the Technology Resource Center in May 2001, CUERE has built its staff to include a post-doctoral research associate, a program assistant, an accounting clerk, a geospatial data service manager, a part-time research analyst, a soil specialist, and a part-time field technician. This summer, the Center will hire one full-time undergraduate student and three field technicians to assist with the research. In the fall, the Center expects to hire at least one research assistant and a GIS technician to help move forward the Center’s ambitious research and education agenda.
Many of the projects listed below were partially or fully funded from other sources that were successfully secured by the investigators during Year 1 of the grant.
Comparative Study of the Baltimore Region
A triennial report card, funded by the Morris A. Goldseker Foundation, compares indicators for the Baltimore Region with Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington, DC. This report, prepared in cooperation with the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR), studies population, the economy, development patterns, the natural environment, and quality of life issues in these urban areas.
State of the Baltimore Region
This report expands upon some of the significant findings of the Comparative Study and discusses the Baltimore region in greater detail. Development and the environment, households and neighborhoods, the economy and workforce, access and mobility, governance and fiscal capacity, crime, health, and educational issues will be examined in this report. It is anticipated that a series of bulletins addressing specific areas will be released as well as a final report. A Web site also will be developed.
The Natural and Social History of the Baltimore Region
This will be an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the social and environmental history of the region. This project is still in the planning stage.
Effect of Development Patterns in Urban Stream Characteristics
This cooperative research project, to be funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and conducted in conjunction with the University of Maryland–Baltimore County (UMBC) Geography Department, will use the recently acquired LIDAR (LIight Detection And Ranging) data to document the effect of different land covers and uses on flood surges and stream channels in the Gwynns Fall watershed.
Survey and Analysis of Statewide Recreational Needs
This is a cooperative research effort with MIPAR, funded by the Maryland Department of Planning, to survey and assess the park and recreational land needs of residents within the State of Maryland. This information will be used by the Maryland Department of Planning and the local jurisdictions to assist them in the preparation of the legislatively mandated Program Open Space recreational plan.
Industrial and Abandoned Property Inventory and Analysis
This project will provide property inventory and analysis of vacant and/or underutilized industrial properties surrounding the Port of Baltimore funded by the Maryland Port Administration. Site-specific documentation for more than 600 industrial sites in Baltimore City will be collected to create a database documenting the current use, ownership, size, zoning and restrictive covenants, impervious surfaces, and suitability for reuse. This project funded by the Maryland Port Administration will be used by the Baltimore Development Corporation to identify redevelopment opportunities along Baltimore’s harbor.
Indicators of Community Characteristics for Four Urban Neighborhoods
Bank of America funded the creation of benchmark and leading indicators of community characteristics for Anacostia in Washington, DC; Tampa Heights, Florida; and Los Angeles and West Oakland, California for Bank of America’s Block-by-Block Community Investment Program.
Educational Projects
CUERE has coupled its education mission with its research agenda. Although the educational endeavors of CUERE will be discussed here, these projects closely parallel the Center’s research agenda.
Roundtables and Seminar Programs
- Urban Environmental Roundtable. During Year 1 of the project, we have sponsored the meetings of the Urban Environmental Roundtable and the Urban Hydrology Working Group to showcase our projects and bring together research professionals and practitioners in the field. The Environmental Roundtable was created to provide a forum for researchers to respond to the needs of the practitioners and to stimulate future research agendas.
- Urban Hydrology Working Group. The Urban Hydrology Working Group was organized in response to a request from a members’ roundtable to provide an opportunity to discuss urban hydrology projects and the information gaps in this specialized field.
- Urban Water Budgets. The Urban Water Budgets meetings are held to discuss the natural hydrologic processes in human-dominated urban landscapes.
GIS Laboratory
The GIS laboratory, with its five workstations, full suite of Environmental Systems Research Institute GIS products, and other state-of-the art data sets, is available for students to learn the complexities of spatial analysis and data visualization. It also is open to faculty, staff, or CUERE partners who have a need for geospatial information. The GIS laboratory was equipped with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Educational Outreach and Curriculum Development
CUERE has designed an educational unit, called the “Community Report Card” for our State of the Region Report. A 3-day short course titled “Urban Ecosystems” was held to discuss the role soil plays in ecology and the urban environment. The materials were targeted at science educators for inclusion into grade 4 through 12 classroom curricula. A short course was held in cooperation with the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) on urban soil management and the restoration of vacant lots to six community associations in Baltimore City.
Future Activities:Field Laboratory
We will construct a soils laboratory facility to support multidisciplinary research and education. This laboratory will demonstrate the value of a research-based approach to undergraduate and graduate education in environmental science and policy. It also will advance understanding by urban scientists, policy makers, resource managers, and citizens about how the flow and the function of the urban landscape affect resources.
Brownfields Study
We propose to examine the functional relationship between Brownfields and their surrounding neighborhoods and the services that each provide. It is believed that through an understanding of this relationship we can determine the underlying limitations and options to successful redevelopment. Additionally, CUERE is developing a site evaluation protocol based on a typology of site characterization, remediation techniques, and restoration options. This project will be a collaborative effort between CUERE, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland–College Park, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, and the U.S. Forest Service.
Lead and Education
Baltimore City has one of the highest rates of lead poisoning among children in the country. High lead blood levels contribute to a variety of social problems ranging from criminal behavior to poor academic performance. CUERE proposes to examine the relation of lead exposure to academic performance and the placement of children in special education.
Information Technology Transfer
The study of the effects of urbanization on the natural environment requires large quantities of biophysical and socioeconomic data. CUERE currently is developing a proposal to seek funding for the creation of a database/data warehouse model to store, document, analyze, and explore both spatial and temporal relationships among these disparate data. Possible collaborators for this project are the U.S. Forest Service, BES, UMBC Computer Science Department, and the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute.
Urban Environmental Seminar Series
This seminar series will encourage targeted research projects, produce collaborations, and enhance environmental practices. The seminars will help integrate discussion of the urban environment in general and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan region in particular and provide useful context and information for all stakeholders. A diverse set of practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders will attend to share their ideas, skills, and experience as both presenters and attendees.
Defining and Measuring Urban Sprawl
This urban sprawl research is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Urban Dynamic Program, Wayne State University, and George Washington University to study sprawl using USGS land cover data in 10 metropolitan areas.
Journal Articles: 6 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 69 publications | 14 publications in selected types | All 6 journal articles |
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Chen Z, Gangopadhyay A, Karabatis G, McGuire M, Welty C. Semantic integration and knowledge discovery for environmental research. Journal of Database Management 2007;18(1):43-68. |
R828182 (Final) |
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Emerson CH, Welty C, Traver RG. Watershed-scale evaluation of a system of storm water detention basins. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering 2005;10(3):237-242. |
R828182 (Final) |
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Groffman PM, Bain DJ, Band LE, Belt KT, Brush GS, Grove JM, Pouyat RV, Yesilonis IC, Zipperer WC. Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2003;1(6):315-321. |
R828182 (Final) |
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Pouyat R, Groffman P, Yesilonis I, Hernandez L. Soil carbon pools and fluxes in urban ecosystems. Environmental Pollution 2002;116(S1):S107-S118. |
R828182 (Final) |
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Russell-Anelli J. Survey, sampling and interpretation of soils in urban ecosystems. Journal of Urban Ecosystems (submitted, 2001). |
R828182 (2002) |
not available |
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Szlavecz K, Placella SA, Pouyat RV, Groffman PM, Csuzdi C, Yesilonis I. Invasive earthworm species and nitrogen cycling in remnant forest patches. Applied Soil Ecology 2006;32(1):54-62. |
R828182 (Final) |
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urban, environmental, education, economics,
land use, urban planning, public policy, education and outreach, environmental
engineering, forestry, socioeconomics, environmental modeling,
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Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Monitoring/Modeling, Environmental Monitoring, Urban and Regional Planning, urban environment, computational model, data gathering, children's health, Brownfields redevelopment, GIS, community outreach
Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract
2003 Progress Report
Final Report