I am a recipient of the Abe Fellowship (2014-16) from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in collaboration with the American Council of Learned Societies and with funding from The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. This year the SSRC received 90+ applications and awarded 12 fellowships. The fellowship provides research support that will allow me to continue my work in Japan on land-use change adaptation that I began in 2012 with the JSPS fellowship (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship) following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. My research project is titled, Planning Urban Recovery and Resilience: Comparing Land Use Policy and Adaptation Initiatives After Catastrophic Events. More information about the fellowship itself is available at Abe Fellowship.

The Emergency Management Planning course is offered every spring semester as part of the Urban and Regional Planning program’s coastal concentration. Nine students were enrolled in Spring 2014. Working within the constraints of a 14-weeks semester, students carried out an impact assessment study of a federally funded Pitt County buyout program that was implemented after the 1999 Hurricane Floyd. The aim of the project was to understand the socio-economic, environmental, and development outcomes of the buyout program in the impacted area, 15 years after Floyd. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Pitt County Department of Planning and Development. Students carried out site visits for visual documentation of parcels in the impacted area along with data collection on floodplain designation change, land use change, and tax value change for each parcel. Current and pre-1999 data were compared to document patterns of development and analyze the project’s impact. Students determined that the buyout program was a moderate success, although, there is still great risk in the area. The project contributed to an experiential learning for the students. The image below was taken after the first field visit to the project site in the floodplain, it includes Pitt County officials from Planning and Development: James Rhodes (Director, 3rd from left), Eli Johnson (Senior Planner, 1st from right) and Bryan Jones (Environmental Planner, 4th from right).

A sample of student final project in Urban Form and Design. The project asks students to synthesize material from the course and categorize it in a way that is meaningful to them using the structure of a deck of cards. The objective of the assignment is to challenge students to assess the course material creatively, logically and critically.