The intersection of local knowledge and scientific knowledge is crucial to adapt to climate change.
A new partnership with Chicago’s Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), will allow DPI researchers to help decrease the local effects of climate change through green stormwater infrastructure (GSI).
MPC awarded a $100,000 grant to Ashish Sharma, climate and urban sustainability lead at DPI, and Abhinav Wadhwa, postdoctoral researcher, to support its Right Infrastructure, Right Place project.
What is green stormwater infrastructure?
When it rains in a city, water is traditionally funneled through “gray stormwater” infrastructure: gutters, sewers, drains, and other metal and concrete materials. In GSI, water drains through green spaces, where it can be absorbed, reducing stormwater runoff and erosion. Many cities, including Chicago, are looking at ways to “green the gray” for stormwater infrastructure.
“If the Chicago region is to avoid the worst impacts from climate change, we need to build practical, cross-sector collaborations like our work with DPI that drives innovation in public policy and infrastructure spending,” said Ryan Wilson, project lead and senior director at MPC. “By providing downscaled rainfall and temperature maps and datasets for the Chicago region, we’re confident that Ashish’s and Abhinav’s work will inform where public funds can have the greatest impact on flooding and heat stress.”
Where does DPI come in?
Sharma and Wadhwa will study how and where rainfall and temperatures have varied in the Chicago region in the past and how they are likely to change in the future, considering the impacts of climate change. The MPC can then use this information to develop a process to evaluate the benefits of GSI and integrate it into public policy, programs and plans.
In addition to finding the most effective locations for GSI, the project will aim to identify locations in Chicago that may be vulnerable to climate change, based on both current conditions and potential future scenarios.
“We are very excited to work with MPC to contribute to solutions–oriented research,” Sharma said. “We hope these outcomes will be useful for GSI prioritization and implementation by local stakeholders and governments in the Chicago area.”
Urban climatology
Sharma and DPI Distinguished Research Scientist Don Wuebbles also received a grant of $75,184 from the National Science Foundation. A supplement to an existing grant, the new funding will support climate data analysis and make possible infrastructure recommendations for cities.
Sharma’s work focuses largely on the intersection of climate and urban architecture and infrastructure. His study earlier this year on height-mapping the urban landscape is potentially a crucial tool to understand the relationship between the built environment and climate.
Author: Jeanie Chung