Journal article
American cities in a time of global environmental change: the case of the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative
Environmental research, infrastructure and sustainability : ERIS, v 6(2), 023001
30 Jun 2026
Featured in Collection : Drexel's Newest Publications
Abstract
The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) Urban Integrated Field Laboratory seeks a new paradigm for urban climate research. Motivated by deep uncertainties in urban climate and the future of urban systems, BSEC works collaboratively across institutions and stakeholder groups to co-generate the science needed to advance energy security and resilience to extreme events across the city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and to do so in a manner that can inform similar efforts in other cities. BSEC begins with stakeholder priorities (health, affordable energy, etc) and designs observation networks and models to deliver climate science to address them. This takes the form of an iterative collaborative cycle, in which an initial research strategy is repeatedly updated in conversation with community partners, and researchers and stakeholders learn from each other. To date, this cycle has included multiple rounds of collaborative deliberation on urban heat mitigation, in which a multicriteria decision tool has been updated with more community-relevant spatial structure and modified optimization metrics. The guiding objective of this cycle is to inform potential ‘secure and resilient pathways’ for energy and infrastructure. In doing so, BSEC addresses fundamental urban science questions in natural and social sciences. It also tests our ability to integrate this science in a manner that advances participatory decision-making for urban resilience.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- American cities in a time of global environmental change: the case of the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative
- Creators
- Benjamin F Zaitchik - Johns Hopkins UniversityMiriam Avins - University of Maryland, BaltimoreMeghan Avolio - Johns Hopkins UniversityRahman Azari - Pennsylvania State UniversityMichael D M Bader - Johns Hopkins UniversityLawrence Band - University of VirginiaMark Cameron - Baltimore City Public SchoolsDonald J Carter - Morgan State UniversityKelly Cross - Goucher CollegeKenneth J Davis - Pennsylvania State UniversityPeter F DeCarlo - Johns Hopkins UniversityDerrick Mirindi - Morgan State UniversityChris estPeter Groffman - City University of New YorkAntonia Hadjimichael - Pennsylvania State UniversityXianbiao Hu - Pennsylvania State UniversityJames Hunter - Morgan State UniversityJiazhen Ling - National Laboratory of the RockiesMac McComas - Johns Hopkins UniversityScot Miller - Johns Hopkins UniversityDoris Minor-Terrell - Community Development Corporation of BrownsvilleYing Pan - Pennsylvania State UniversityAva Richardson - Baltimore City Health DepartmentMaterusz Rozanski - Center for Climate and Resilience Research (Chile, Santiago) -Tonya Sanders ThachKristin Sznajder - Pennsylvania State UniversityMichael Waring - Drexel UniversityDarryn Waugh - Johns Hopkins UniversityYaxing Wei - Oak Ridge National LaboratoryClaire Welty - University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyWangda Zuo - Pennsylvania State University
- Publication Details
- Environmental research, infrastructure and sustainability : ERIS, v 6(2), 023001
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- Department of Energy Office of Science: DE-SC0023217
This work was supported by Department of Energy Office of Science award DE-SC0023217.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001762429500001
- Other Identifier
- 991022179441604721