Journal Briefs

Urban home gardening is associated with happiness

November 2020
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

This study measured people’s emotional well-being (EWB) while engaged in urban household gardening. The researchers directly measured EWB of home gardeners and compared their reported emotional affect across different activities, … Read more

How the built environment influences biking and walking

November 2020
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

Active travel—biking and walking instead of driving—is important to both public health and the environment. This study sought to understand the collective influence of built environment features, such as distance … Read more

Urban sprawl and its effect on nearby forests

November 2020
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

This study contributes new findings on the impacts of urban sprawl on functionality of nearby forests. Download the two-page journal brief here: Urban sprawl and its effect on nearby forests … Read more

Public interest in self-driving vehicles

November 2020
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

As improvements in automated vehicles (AVs) make them an increasingly viable mode of transportation, what types of people will use them? This journal brief summarizes results from two surveys that … Read more

Identifying Thresholds for When Built Environment Variables Affect Transportation CO2 Emissions

October 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

This journal brief explores the how thresholds related to built environment characteristics affect transportation-related CO2 emissions. Download the two-page journal brief. This brief is adapted from the following peer-reviewed journal … Read more

Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

This journal brief explores the ecosystem services associated with different types of green infrastructure, conceptually mapping connections. Download the two-page journal brief. This brief is adapted from the following peer-reviewed … Read more

Comparing Urban Food Systems

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

How do food systems and their sustainability impacts vary across cities? This journal brief summarizes the results of a study on nine Indian cities, which found substantial differences between local … Read more

Advances and Challenges in Urban Green Infrastructure

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Patricia Culligan

This brief reports findings from an article considering multiple years of green infrastructure (GI) work in New York City as a basis to review the role that GI systems can … Read more

Making Strategic Investments in Bike Share Stations to Increase Usage

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Jueyu Wang and Greg Lindsey

Does the installation of more bike share stations increase use of the system among members? If so, is the effect the same for all members, in all areas of the … Read more

Using Twitter to Measure Wellbeing in Parks and Urban Green Space

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Richard Plunz et al.

This brief reports findings from a study offering an exploration of how social media, and in particular twitter, can be used to evaluate social behavior in public spaces. It tries … Read more

Vacancy and Mobility Implications of Informal Footpaths in Shrinking Cities

August 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Alec Foster and Josh Newell

This journal brief shares findings from a study that documents and considers the implications of informal footpaths, also known as desire lines, in the Lower Eastside area of Detroit. Using … Read more

Reviewing Stormwater Utility Fees for Efficiency, Equity, Adequacy and Feasibility

April 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Jerry Zhao, Camila Fonseca, and Raihana Zeerak

Stormwater utility fees (SUFs) are on the rise among US municipalities. What do local decision makers need to know about SUFs and how should they be thinking about SUFs in … Read more

Distributed Electricity-Based Heating Systems and Renewable Energy Scenario Planning

April 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Shengxi Yuan, Wendell Stainsby, Mo Li, Kewei Xu, Michael Waite, Dan Zimmerle, Richard Feiock, Anu Ramaswami, Vijay Modi

As residential heating converts from natural gas-based to electricity-based systems, can enough renewable energy be generated locally to meet most, if not all, of increased electricity demand? This study uses … Read more

Understanding the Social Benefits of Community Gardens in East Harlem

April 2019
Journal Brief
Author: Nada Petrovic, Troy Simpson, Ben Orlove, and Bryan Dowd-Uribe

This study is motivated by an interest in understanding whether an ecosystem services perspective on community gardens (heat island mitigation, food cultivation, etc.) can be combined with attention to the … Read more

Resource Requirements of Inclusive Urban Development in India

September 2018
Journal Brief
Author: Ajay Nagpure and Anu Ramaswami

What are the energy and resource requirements of equitable and inclusive urban development? Understanding the resource requirements of developing more inclusive cities in India is the focus of this paper. … Read more

Can Local Food Production Meet Household Demand? A Look at 377 US Metros

August 2018
Journal Brief
Author: Peter Nixon and Anu Ramaswami

What food is already being produced in and around cities in the United States? How does current food production in a given metropolitan area compare to household demand for key … Read more

Electric, Autonomous, and Shared Vehicle Technology Adoption

August 2018
Journal Brief
Author: Neil Quarles and Kara Kockelman

With the ongoing advancement of electric, autonomous, and shared vehicle technologies, how readily will Americans adopt these technologies, and what are their opinions towards them? A survey of 1,426 adult … Read more

Urban Tree Pit Design Factors for Stormwater Management Performance

July 2018
Journal Brief
Author: Robert Elliott, Elizabeth Adkins, Patricia Culligan, Matthew Palmer

Street trees in the urban environment provide important ecosystem services including stormwater management, reducing pollutant discharges and flooding by lessening surface runoff. Does the design of an urban tree pit … Read more

City-level Action to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Food Systems

May 2018
Journal Brief
Author: Dana Boyer and Anu Ramaswami

How do city-level actions related to food production, consumption, and food waste management affect the greenhouse gas (GHG), water and land impacts of the larger food system? Footprints of urban … Read more

What Affects Local Government Climate Policy Adoption?

November 2017
Journal Brief
Author: Multiple

Why do local governments in the US voluntarily adopt climate policies or climate protection plans when they could easily “free load” on the climate actions of other jurisdictions? A study … Read more