Resilient Futures Podcast

Introducing Dr. Brian Bledsoe, Director of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Georgia and farmer, guitar player, and dad (not in that order.)
Our hosts Alysha Helmrich and Todd Bridges join Bledsoe in reviewing his lifelong commitment to research and interdisciplinary collaboration. His career has largely focused on river management and hydrology, leading him to work not just with engineers but ecologists, economists, geologists, lawyers and more. When he proposed a new institute at UGA focusing on natural solutions for infrastructure problems, he found a large community of interest that confirmed just how critical interdisciplinary expertise was for resilience.
Bledsoe described the "tremendous potential" nature-based solutions have to change how we approach development. His own mission in the movement is "to act as a connector of people who are committed to rethinking infrastructure." IRIS itself is meant to adapt to needs of the researchers, stakeholders and students that comprise it, but Bledsoe hopes that the institute can act as a lighthouse for natural infrastructure solutions.
He explains how IRIS is promoting this work for their large community of students and partners, and calls on practitioners of the IRIS mission to be "relentless listeners," sharing knowledge while learning from others. Listen now to learn more about IRIS's ongoing work on nature-based solutions!
Brian's poems:
When in doubt,
Don’t just build it stout-
Spread it out!
Bend, don’t break
Hard and strong will fail
Green sapling.
Dr. Brian Bledsoe, UGA IRIS: https://iris.uga.edu/iris-people/brian-bledsoe-p-e/
Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems: https://iris.uga.edu/
IRIS's new Natural Infrastructure Certificate: https://iris.uga.edu/natural-infrastructure-certificate/
ASCE's statement on NbS: https://www.asce.org/advocacy/policy-statements/ps575---nature-based-solutions
IRIS's NbS Job Board: https://iris.uga.edu/the-iris-job-board/
Check out this past episode that also discusses interdisciplinary resilience:
https://iris.uga.edu/2023/11/15/resilient-futures-podcast-episode-2-promoting-resilience-interdisciplinary-expertise-and-collaboration/

¿Que son los eventos climáticos extremos?, el Dr. Agustín Robles, líder académico de la ciudad de Hermosillo en la Red de Resiliencia Urbana a Eventos Extremos (UREx) nos explica que son estos y por que es importante estudiarlos. También en este episodio la Dra. Olga Barbosa nos explica que tipo de acciones y proyectos se llevan acabo en la red y como es que esta contribuye a mejorar nuestras ciudades. Pon mucha atención tal vez tu recuerdes tu experiencia durante un evento extremo como lo hace una profesionista de Ciudad Obregón Sonora. ... Si tiene preguntas o sugerencias para episodios futuros, envíenos un correo electrónico a [email protected] o encuéntrenos en Twitter @FutureCitiesPod.

The built environment has significantly contributed to climate change, and it is becoming increasingly clear that net-zero carbon emissions is not enough. Phil Horton and Alysha Helmrich discuss the importance of carbon capture and explore how cities may play a role in carbon banking. In this episode, we will discuss the role that buildings and urban infrastructure will play in carbon draw-down and decarbonization through: end-to-end carbon accounting, building material innovations, and emergent alignment and coordination across critical stakeholders and agencies in the future of our urban environments.
Follow the hosts on Twitter:

• Philip Horton (@asudesignschool)
• Alysha Helmrich (@AlyshaHelmrich)

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Additional Resources:

• Build Beyond Zero https://islandpress.org/books/build-beyond-zero
  Carbon Cure https://www.carboncure.com/
  Dr. Klaus Lackner and Mechanical Trees https://mechanicaltrees.com/our-latest-news/arizona-state-university-and-carbon-collect-announce-agreement-to-deploy-worlds-first-commercially-viable-passive-carbon-capture-technology/
  Center for Negative Carbon Emissions https://globalfutures.asu.edu/cnce/
  Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/
  Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/production-of-functionalized-carbon-from-synergistic-hydrothermal
  

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Distributive, procedural, recognitional justice are vital for nature-based solutions, but these dimensions of justice have multiple and conflicting meanings. Drs. Katinka Wijsman and Marta Berbés-Blázquez explore how political theory and philosophy help in understanding differences and conflict. They present five key justice questions for researchers and practitioners to reflect with. One major takeaway? Praxis and reflectivity are crucial to balancing the act of practicing justice.
Topic paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.06.018
Hosts & Twitter handles:

• Katinka Wijsman (@KatinkaWijsman)
• Marta Berbés-Blázquez (@MartaBerbes)
• @SGPL_UU and @UniUtrecht
• Alysha Helmrich (@AlyshaHelmrich)

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NATURA RULA-IRES project Opportunity: https://natura-net.org/rula

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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the NATURA project at natura-net.org.

Water is a natural resource all of us rely on, but there's a lot of thought and work that goes into being able to turn on your tap. How do we make sure water is accessible to everyone? Who does a water source belong to? And why is getting water out West so complicated?
This month, hosts Alysha and Todd are joined by Dr. Ben Rachunok, an assistant professor at the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University. Rachunok studies how communities evaluate and respond to water rights, climate risk and natural hazards. Costs of water and climate action are not equally distributed across space, and low-income households often pay a higher price for water access- and during periods of water scarcity.
With examples from the Carolinas to California, the group explores the surprising interconnections in the world of water rights and affordability, the role of policy in risk management, and how at-risk communities manage climate threats.
Check out the recent paper they discuss in this episode: Socio-hydrological drought impacts on urban water affordability (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-022-00009-w)
And this "companion paper" for more context: The unequal burdens of water scarcity (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-022-00016-x)
Ben's haiku:
Droughts raise water's price
Low-income homes bear the cost
Thirst deepens the gap
Bio: https://ise.ncsu.edu/people/barachun/