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Description
This dissertation combines three research projects to examine the people affecting and affected by urban environmental change across multiple scales of decision making. In the Phoenix Metropolitan area and the Colorado River Basin, I study the social influence around the implementation of water use innovations among city-level stakeholders (Chapter 2) and I emphasize that water insecurity still exists in wealthy cities (Chapter 3). In Chapter 4, I ultimately consider grassroots solutions for achieving resource security alongside positive social change in a historically underserved community. In this dissertation, I have conceptualized my research questions by envisioning urban change as an opportunity for actors, at multiple scales, to simultaneously reduce resource waste and promote positive social change.
ContributorsDeMyers, Christine (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis advisor) / White, Dave (Committee member) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Committee member) / Glegziabher, Meskerem (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In this multi-media dissertation, water is used metaphorically to equate the process of learning with embracing change. Paradigm shifts needed for sustainability require transformative learning where one is open to being shaped by new knowledge and experience. Properties of water – such as molecular bonding and phase changes – uncover lessons for humans’ adaptability. Given that human bodies are comprised mostly of water – what implications exist for human capacity to similarly undergo continuous change? An arts- based research methodology is practiced to produce a four-chapter project. Artistic methods of data collection and communication retain subjective complexity of lived experiences central to learning processes. Each chapter is prepared for a target audience and addresses widening scales of creative learning for sustainability.
Chapter one is a narrative ethnography that focuses on a personal creative process for sustainability learning. Chapter two is a co- authored journal that covers creative learning tools and design principles for sustainable classrooms. Chapter three is an open-access and adaptive, online toolkit that shares creative methods to cultivate curiosity and critical contemplation. Chapter four is an interactive showcase event that explores how water can inform and inspire individual and collective learning for sustainability.
This four-chapter project addresses the power of creative learning for sustainability at the personal, familial, formal classroom, informal online learning community, and public scales. Arts-based methods harness aesthetic power, welcome subjective complexity, and allow multiple meanings to be interpreted from research results. This multi- media project stretches the conventional structure of sustainability dissertations. The bridge between the arts and sciences is strengthened as this project shows synergies between these two ways of knowing. This research invites what can be learned from the wisdom of water – to both change and be changed by circumstances.
Chapter one is a narrative ethnography that focuses on a personal creative process for sustainability learning. Chapter two is a co- authored journal that covers creative learning tools and design principles for sustainable classrooms. Chapter three is an open-access and adaptive, online toolkit that shares creative methods to cultivate curiosity and critical contemplation. Chapter four is an interactive showcase event that explores how water can inform and inspire individual and collective learning for sustainability.
This four-chapter project addresses the power of creative learning for sustainability at the personal, familial, formal classroom, informal online learning community, and public scales. Arts-based methods harness aesthetic power, welcome subjective complexity, and allow multiple meanings to be interpreted from research results. This multi- media project stretches the conventional structure of sustainability dissertations. The bridge between the arts and sciences is strengthened as this project shows synergies between these two ways of knowing. This research invites what can be learned from the wisdom of water – to both change and be changed by circumstances.
ContributorsMovahed, Neda Y (Author) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis advisor) / Lerman, Liz (Thesis advisor) / Fonow, Mary Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Sustainability research and action in communities should be holistic, integrating sociocultural, biogeophysical, and spiritual components and their temporal and spatial dynamics toward the aim of co-creating thriving living systems. Yet scientists and practitioners still struggle with such integration. Regenerative development (RD) offers a way forward. RD focuses on shifting the consciousness and thinking underlying (un)sustainability as well as their manifestation in the physical world, creating increasingly higher levels of health and vitality for all life across scales. However, tools are nascent and relatively insular. Until recently, no empirical scientific research studies had been published on RD processes and outcomes.
My dissertation fills this gap in three complementary studies. The first is an integrative review that contextualizes regenerative development within the fields of sustainability, sustainable design and development, and ecology by identifying its conceptual elements and introducing a regenerative landscape development paradigm. The second study integrates complex adaptive systems science, ecology, sustainability, and regenerative development to construct and pilot the first iteration of a holistic sustainable development evaluation tool—the Regenerative Development Evaluation Tool—in two river restoration projects. The third study builds upon the first two, integrating scientific knowledge with existing RD and sustainable community design and development practices and theory to construct and pilot a Regenerative Community Development (RCD) Framework. Results indicate that the RCD Framework and Tools, when used within a regenerative landscape development paradigm, can facilitate: (1) shifts in thinking and development and design outcomes to holistic and regenerative ones; (2) identification of areas where development and design projects can become more regenerative and ways to do so; and (3) identification of factors that potentially facilitate and impede RCD processes. Overall, this research provides a direction and tools for holistic sustainable development as well as foundational studies for further research.
My dissertation fills this gap in three complementary studies. The first is an integrative review that contextualizes regenerative development within the fields of sustainability, sustainable design and development, and ecology by identifying its conceptual elements and introducing a regenerative landscape development paradigm. The second study integrates complex adaptive systems science, ecology, sustainability, and regenerative development to construct and pilot the first iteration of a holistic sustainable development evaluation tool—the Regenerative Development Evaluation Tool—in two river restoration projects. The third study builds upon the first two, integrating scientific knowledge with existing RD and sustainable community design and development practices and theory to construct and pilot a Regenerative Community Development (RCD) Framework. Results indicate that the RCD Framework and Tools, when used within a regenerative landscape development paradigm, can facilitate: (1) shifts in thinking and development and design outcomes to holistic and regenerative ones; (2) identification of areas where development and design projects can become more regenerative and ways to do so; and (3) identification of factors that potentially facilitate and impede RCD processes. Overall, this research provides a direction and tools for holistic sustainable development as well as foundational studies for further research.
ContributorsGibbons, Leah Veronica (Author) / Cloutier, Scott A (Thesis advisor) / Coseo, Paul J (Committee member) / Childers, Daniel L. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
ABSTRACT
Historically, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) guided companies to make better decisions to improve the environmental impacts of their products. However, as new Circular Economy (CE) tools emerge, the usefulness of LCA in assessing linear products grow more and more obsolete. Research Question: How do LCA-based tools account for reuse/multiple life cycles of products verses CE-based tools?
The Kaiteki Innovation Framework (KIF) was used to address the question of circularity of two packaging materials using an Environmental LCA to populate its 12 CE dimensions. Any gaps were evaluated with 2 LCA- based and 2 CE-based tools to see which could address the leftover CE dimensions.
Results showed that to complete the KIF template, LCA data required one of the LCA-based tools: Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and both CE-based tools: Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) to supplement gaps in the KIF. The LCA addressed 5 of the KIF dimensions: Innovation Category Name, Description, GHG Impact, Other Environmental Impacts, and Value Chain Position. 3 analytical tools addressed 5 more:: Effect on Circularity, Social Impacts, Enabling Technologies, Tier 2 and 3 Requirements, and Value Chain Synergies. None of the tools could address the KIF Dimensions: State of Development or Scale Requirements. All in all, the KIF required both LCA-based and CE-based tools to cover social and socio-economic impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective with multiple circular loops in mind. These results can help in the research and development of innovative, circular products that can lead to a more environmentally preferred future.
Historically, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) guided companies to make better decisions to improve the environmental impacts of their products. However, as new Circular Economy (CE) tools emerge, the usefulness of LCA in assessing linear products grow more and more obsolete. Research Question: How do LCA-based tools account for reuse/multiple life cycles of products verses CE-based tools?
The Kaiteki Innovation Framework (KIF) was used to address the question of circularity of two packaging materials using an Environmental LCA to populate its 12 CE dimensions. Any gaps were evaluated with 2 LCA- based and 2 CE-based tools to see which could address the leftover CE dimensions.
Results showed that to complete the KIF template, LCA data required one of the LCA-based tools: Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and both CE-based tools: Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) and Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) to supplement gaps in the KIF. The LCA addressed 5 of the KIF dimensions: Innovation Category Name, Description, GHG Impact, Other Environmental Impacts, and Value Chain Position. 3 analytical tools addressed 5 more:: Effect on Circularity, Social Impacts, Enabling Technologies, Tier 2 and 3 Requirements, and Value Chain Synergies. None of the tools could address the KIF Dimensions: State of Development or Scale Requirements. All in all, the KIF required both LCA-based and CE-based tools to cover social and socio-economic impacts from a cradle-to-cradle perspective with multiple circular loops in mind. These results can help in the research and development of innovative, circular products that can lead to a more environmentally preferred future.
ContributorsDe Los Santos, Andrew John (Author) / Seager, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Due to extreme summer temperatures that regularly reach 122°F (50°C), cooling energy requirements have been responsible for 70% of peak demand and 45% of total electricity consumption in Kuwait. It is estimated that 50%-60% of electric power is consumed by the residential sector, mostly in detached villas. This study analyzes the potential impact of energy efficiency measures (EEM) and renewable energy (RE) measures on the electric energy requirements of an existing villa built in 2004. Using architectural plans, interview data, and the eQUEST building energy simulation tool, a building energy model (BEM) was developed for a villa calibrated with hourly energy use data for the year 2014. Although the modeled villa consumed less energy than an average Kuwaiti villa of the same size, 26% energy reductions were still possible under compliance with 2018 building codes. Compliance with 2010 and 2014 building codes, however, would have increased energy use by 19% and 3% respectively. Furthermore, survey data of 150 villas was used to generate statistics on rooftop solar area availability. Accordingly, it was found that 78% of the survey sample’s average total rooftop area was not suitable for rooftop solar systems due to shading and other obstacles. The integration of a solar canopy circumvents this issue and also functions as a shading device for outdoor activities and as a protective cover for AC units and water tanks. Combining the highest modeled EEMs and RE measures on the villa, the energy use intensity (EUI) would be reduced to 15 kWh/m2/year from a baseline value of 127 kWh/m2/year, close to net zero. Finally, it was determined that EEMs were able to reduce the entire demand profile whereas RE measures were most effective at reducing demand around mid-day hours. In future studies, more effort should be spent on collecting hourly data from multiple villas to assist in the development of a detailed hourly bottom-up residential energy modeling methodology.
ContributorsAlyakoob, Ali (Author) / Reddy, Agami T (Thesis advisor) / Addison, Marlin (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, ecotourism represented the tourism industry’s fastest growing segment with projections estimating that ecotourism would become the world’s largest tourism type by 2030. While the tourism industry will need several years to rebound, if historic trends tell us anything, it is that ecotourism will continue to represent a large portion of the overall industry and will continue to grow at a rate that outpaces all other tourism types. In theory, ecotourism promotes sustainable socioeconomic development while also minimizing negative environmental impacts. Unfortunately, research suggests that this is not always true, and many examples exist of ecotourism causing more harm than good. In order to combat these potential negative impacts, the ecotourism industry has become increasingly reliant on ecotourism certification programs to act as an assessment tool that identifies ecotourism’s best practitioners while minimizing false advertising present within the industry. Despite these beliefs in the efficacy of certification, there is a lack of empirical research to actually support certification as an effective assessment tool. Furthermore, little research has been conducted that assesses the impacts that certification itself has on ecotourism businesses (both certified and uncertified) and the local communities dependent on ecotourism.
My dissertation employs a mixed methods design and combines qualitative and quantitative research methods spanning multiple geographic scales to develop an understanding of certification programs as they exist today and to discern the impacts that certification itself may cause for all those either directly or indirectly involved in ecotourism. My findings ultimately suggest that certification reform is needed if certification programs are expected to be the assessment tool ecotourism experts claim them to be. Specifically, as certification exists presently, there is: no universal guideline or standard for existing certification programs to follow, a disconnect between the advertised benefits certification offers and the actual benefits received, and a lack of market penetration both amongst ecotourists and ecotourism businesses. Each of these must be addressed before certification can live up to its full potential. Furthermore, I found that certification may impact community socioeconomic dynamics, particularly by creating or exacerbating community wealth distribution.
My dissertation employs a mixed methods design and combines qualitative and quantitative research methods spanning multiple geographic scales to develop an understanding of certification programs as they exist today and to discern the impacts that certification itself may cause for all those either directly or indirectly involved in ecotourism. My findings ultimately suggest that certification reform is needed if certification programs are expected to be the assessment tool ecotourism experts claim them to be. Specifically, as certification exists presently, there is: no universal guideline or standard for existing certification programs to follow, a disconnect between the advertised benefits certification offers and the actual benefits received, and a lack of market penetration both amongst ecotourists and ecotourism businesses. Each of these must be addressed before certification can live up to its full potential. Furthermore, I found that certification may impact community socioeconomic dynamics, particularly by creating or exacerbating community wealth distribution.
ContributorsDavila, Ryan (Author) / Kinzig, Ann (Thesis advisor) / Perrings, Charles (Committee member) / Collins, James (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Buzinde, Christine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
The International Energy Agency (IEA) anticipates the global energy demand to grow by more than 25% by 2040, requiring more than $2 trillion a year of investment in new energy supply (IEA, 2018). With power needs increasing as populations grow and climate extremes become more routine, power companies seek to continually increase capacity, improve efficiency, and provide resilience to the power grid, such that they can meet the energy needs of the societies they serve, often while trying to minimize their carbon emissions. Despite significant research dedicated to planning for industrial projects, including power generation projects as well as the pipeline projects that enable power generation and distribute power, there are still endemic cost overruns and schedule delays in large scale power generation projects. This research explores root causes of these seemingly systemic project performance issues that plague power generation projects. Specifically, this work analyzes approximately 770 power and pipeline projects and identifies how project performance indicators (i.e., cost and schedule performance) as well as planning indicators, compare in two regulatory environments, namely nonregulated and regulated markets. This contributes explicit understanding of the relationship between project performance and regulatory environment, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to the pipeline and power project planning and construction bodies of knowledge. Following an understanding of nonregulated versus regulated markets, this research takes a deeper dive into one highly-regulated power sector, the nuclear power sector, and explores root causes for cost overruns and schedule delays. This work leverages gray literature (i.e., newspaper articles) as sources, in order to analyze projects individually (most academic literature presents data about an aggregated set of projects) and understand the public perception of risks associated with such projects. This work contributes an understanding of the risks associated with nuclear power plant construction to the nuclear power plant construction body of knowledge. Ultimately, the findings from this research support improved planning for power and pipeline projects, in turn leading to more predictable projects, in terms of cost and schedule performance, regardless of regulatory environment. This enables power providers to meet the capacity demands of a growing population within budget and schedule.
ContributorsSherman, Rachael Paige (Author) / Parrish, Kristen (Thesis advisor) / Gibson Jr., G. Edward (Committee member) / Lamanna, Anthony (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Social Carrying Capacity (SCC) has been used commonly in the past to study the impact of increasing numbers of tourists on tourists’ satisfaction with a destination. However, it has been used less commonly to research the impact of increasing levels of tourism on residents of tourism destinations. As definitions of sustainable tourism shift to be more inclusive of residents, commonly used constructs should also be refined or modified to reflect this ontological shift. Current operational definitions of SCC tend to focus on crowding as the major indicator SCC has been reached. Even the theories commonly used to study SCC, stimulus-overload and expectancy theories, relate directly to crowding. This Master’s thesis aimed to expand the concept of SCC to be more representative of the manifold impacts experienced by residents of tourism destinations as tourism increases. This aim was accomplished through an exploratory mixed methods study ultimately resulting in the creation of a new SCC measurement tool.
The qualitative phase of this research consisted of four focus groups in three sites with varying levels of tourism development. The data from the focus groups were used to inform item writing of a measurement tool that represented a greater number of SCC indicators than crowding to confirm the validity of the indicators in the quantitative phase of the research. After the instrument was distributed via a statewide poll, two structural equation models were fit to compare the operational definitions. A better understanding of the relationship between one of the supporting theories, stimulus-overload theory, and SCC was uncovered with evidence of an emergent connection between SCC and tourism-related stressors.
The results of the research indicate that there are multiple indicators of SCC experienced by residents of tourism destinations which can change in degree and expression as tourism development in a community increases. The operational definition including these indicators explained more variance in support for tourism development than overcrowding alone. A greater awareness of these indicators and their evolution can strengthen the theoretical foundation of SCC and enable practitioners to make multi-faceted, proactive decisions when managing a destination.
The qualitative phase of this research consisted of four focus groups in three sites with varying levels of tourism development. The data from the focus groups were used to inform item writing of a measurement tool that represented a greater number of SCC indicators than crowding to confirm the validity of the indicators in the quantitative phase of the research. After the instrument was distributed via a statewide poll, two structural equation models were fit to compare the operational definitions. A better understanding of the relationship between one of the supporting theories, stimulus-overload theory, and SCC was uncovered with evidence of an emergent connection between SCC and tourism-related stressors.
The results of the research indicate that there are multiple indicators of SCC experienced by residents of tourism destinations which can change in degree and expression as tourism development in a community increases. The operational definition including these indicators explained more variance in support for tourism development than overcrowding alone. A greater awareness of these indicators and their evolution can strengthen the theoretical foundation of SCC and enable practitioners to make multi-faceted, proactive decisions when managing a destination.
ContributorsMoran, Casey D (Author) / Vogt, Christine (Thesis advisor) / Jordan, Evan (Committee member) / Andereck, Kathleen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This thesis intends to help inform American Indian nations’ decision making related to housing. The study recognizes the urgent need for housing solutions that fit the needs of a community as well as benefit the overall ecosystem. One model that can offer guidance is the Circular Economy (CE) model. A well-thought-out CE process can provide housing solutions that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. It also stimulates the local economy by strategically introducing positive changes. This research identifies the construction potential of available circular materials as compared to more contemporary building materials. It then recommends a closed-loop circular model that utilizes the community’s existing infrastructure to develop affordable housing. The proposed CE model operates within the built environment, stimulating local employment while catering to the needs of the residents. Such an approach can prove to be beneficial for the local community and perhaps scalable to the global economy.
ContributorsPatadia, Niti Arshey (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Begay Jr., Richard K (Committee member) / Horton, Philip (Committee member) / Neveu, Marc (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Universities and colleges in the United States (U.S.) are in a period of rapid transformation. Driven by the need for an educated workforce, higher education institutions are responding to rapid innovation, globalization, economic realities, and sociodemographic shifts. Simultaneously, extensive educational online networks connect millions of people worldwide enable learning and knowledge sharing beyond what society has experienced to date. In light of technological advancements, the preservation and presentation of certain ideals that undergird academia and the communication and application of knowledge are undergoing dramatic change. Within higher education, this is both a challenge and an opportunity to re-envision the commitment to educate the public. This research discusses potential forms of this redesign and how it can build upon and depart from previous iterations of higher education. How colleges and universities will adapt to become more relevant, engaging, and accessible is a pressing question that must be addressed.
Using case studies focused on creating sustainability education materials, this dissertation develops knowledge related to three interconnected areas of study that will contribute to redesigning higher education through participatory action research methodology. First, higher education has a civic responsibility to provide new ways of thinking, being, and doing globally and providing more access to education to broader society, especially through public research institutions. Second, with a vast array of available learning materials, higher education should invest in elegantly-designed experiences consisting of well-reasoned, meticulously-curated, and high-quality content that is aesthetically appealing, engaging, and accessible to a broad audience. Third, as universities transition from the gatekeepers of knowledge to the connectors of knowledge, they also need to ensure that a coherent mission is articulated and invested in by stakeholders to create an intentionally beneficial transformational effort. The transformation of higher education toward a more inclusive learning environment through new ways of thinking and elegantly-designed learning experiences will serve to improve our learning institutions. As part of the necessary core for an educated democracy, higher education institutions must strive to create a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse society.
Using case studies focused on creating sustainability education materials, this dissertation develops knowledge related to three interconnected areas of study that will contribute to redesigning higher education through participatory action research methodology. First, higher education has a civic responsibility to provide new ways of thinking, being, and doing globally and providing more access to education to broader society, especially through public research institutions. Second, with a vast array of available learning materials, higher education should invest in elegantly-designed experiences consisting of well-reasoned, meticulously-curated, and high-quality content that is aesthetically appealing, engaging, and accessible to a broad audience. Third, as universities transition from the gatekeepers of knowledge to the connectors of knowledge, they also need to ensure that a coherent mission is articulated and invested in by stakeholders to create an intentionally beneficial transformational effort. The transformation of higher education toward a more inclusive learning environment through new ways of thinking and elegantly-designed learning experiences will serve to improve our learning institutions. As part of the necessary core for an educated democracy, higher education institutions must strive to create a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse society.
ContributorsHale, Anne Elizabeth (Author) / Archambault, Leanna (Thesis advisor) / Johnston, Erik W., 1977- (Thesis advisor) / Richter, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020