Skip to main content

College of the Environment

News | May 26, 2021

‘Rain gardens’ turn backyards into water treatment facilities, benefiting marine life

Seattle’s frequent rainfall is responsible for much of the region’s natural beauty, from old-growth forests to the creeks and rivers that flow into Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. But rain can also be catastrophic to area ecosystems. When precipitation falls on roofs, roads, and other hard surfaces, it sweeps pollutants like heavy metals directly…


News | July 1, 2019

‘Regional climate modeling’ provides clearer picture of climate change impacts in PNW

KNKX weather expert and UW professor of Atmospheric Sciences Cliff Mass has been working with a group of researchers within the Department of Atmospheric Sciences hoping to get a better idea of the impact climate change will have on the Pacific Northwest. The group has been conducting “regional climate modeling.” “Many people know about global…


News | December 12, 2019

‘Blue’ space: Access to water features can boost city dwellers’ mental health

Officials are increasingly recognizing that integrating nature into cities is an effective public health strategy to improve mental health. Doctors around the world now administer “green prescriptions” – where patients are encouraged to spend time in local nature spaces – based on hundreds of studies showing that time in nature can benefit people’s psychological well-being and increase…


News | August 1, 2019

‘Feedback loops’ of methane, CO2 echo environmental problem beyond Washington

One of the interesting features of climate change is the warmer it gets, the warmer it will get. Warming global temperatures are often thought of as a one-way street, originating from the exhaust pipe of a vehicle and ending with an uptick on the thermometer. But the Earth has its own regulating factors at work,…


News | June 17, 2019

2 hours/week in nature: Your prescription for better health?

Spending just a couple of hours a week enjoying nature may do your body and mind some good, a new study suggests. The study, of nearly 20,000 adults in England, found that people who spent at least two hours outdoors in the past week gave higher ratings to their physical health and mental well-being. Most…


News | September 14, 2022

2022 Urban@UW Spark Grants Awardees Announced

Urban@UW is excited to announce awardees for the third round of funding through our Spark Grants program. The three projects selected address critical urban challenges, with a focus on transdisciplinary scholarship and engagement with vulnerable populations. Analysis of a Food Bank Home Delivery Program Food security, defined as access at all times to nutritious food,…


News | July 31, 2019

4.6 earthquake shakes Seattle region, no damage reported

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake shook Seattle and the Puget Sound region at 2:51 a.m. Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), rattling some people out of bed, while leaving other people blissfully dormant and unfazed. The earthquake emanated from Three Lakes, Snohomish County, about 9 miles east of downtown Everett. The temblor raises…


News | June 26, 2024

A Biochar Solution for Urban Runoff

Written by Julia Davis for the University of Washington In cities around the globe, stormwater runoff remains largely untreated, collecting everything from heavy metals to pesticides before flowing into our waterways. This environmental challenge requires innovative solutions, and biochar may just be the key. CEE Assistant Professor Jessica Ray and graduate student Amy Quintanilla are…


News | March 7, 2019

A new laser-toting disaster lab aims to save lives by saving data

Inside a small, rectangular room at the University of Washington is a series of shelves filled with more than 300 high-tech tools. There’s a collection of drones, cameras, and tablets, and even a mobile EEG kit, able to measure a brain’s electrical activity and detect stress levels in disaster victims. Each one has been meticulously…


News | February 13, 2020

A Popular Beach in Tacoma is Being Redesigned Based on Climate Change Projections

Climate change projections of rising sea levels is one reason Tacoma is making major changes to one of its most popular beaches. It is using research from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group to redesign Owen Beach at Point Defiance Park. Research from UW shows with continued high greenhouse gas emissions, by 2100 the global…


News | March 13, 2021

A quick guide to the birds you’re hearing now in Seattle area

The birds most likely to capture our attention with their songs during early spring in the Pacific Northwest are not migratory visitors, nor exotic strangers, but good old perennial neighbors. Next month, we’ll get some migrants with beautiful songs, said John Marzluff, a professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest…


News | May 5, 2020

A timber-based building method draws praise, and skeptics

Last September, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee stepped to a lectern in a sprawling 270,000-square-foot factory outside Spokane and declared it the “best day so far” in his six years in office. Earlier that day, he had marched downtown as part of the youth-driven climate strike that united 4 million people worldwide. Now he was in nearby…


News | June 22, 2020

Air pollution ebbs during the pandemic in Washington state

Kristi Straus, a lecturer in the University of Washington’s College of Environmental Studies program, said reduced traffic and work commutes have likely lowered nitrogen dioxide pollution and improved people’s quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Certainly commuting is a big way we spend our time and burn fossil fuels,” she said. “The reduced traffic…


Course | ATM S 212

Air Pollution: From Urban Smog to the Ozone Hole

This course is an introduction to air pollution on local, regional, and global scales. We will focus on the sources, transformation, and dispersion of pollutants responsible for urban smog, acid rain, climate change and the stratospheric ozone hole. We will examine the health and environmental effects of air pollutants, as well as current (or potential) technological solutions and international policy regulations.

Scholar

Alison Duvall

Visit scholar website

News | February 15, 2022

An unexpected item is blocking cities’ climate change prep: obsolete rainfall records

American cities are poised to spend billions of dollars to improve their water systems under the federal infrastructure bill, the largest water investment in the nation’s history. Those new sewers and storm drains will need to withstand rainfall that’s becoming more intense in a changing climate. But as cities make plans to tear up streets and…


News | August 16, 2018

An Unfair Share: Exploring the disproportionate risks from climate change facing Washington State communities

Everyone in Washington state will be affected by climate change, but race, income and occupation influences how much risk Washington state residents and workers face from climate-related hazards like wildfires, floods and extreme heat. A new report finds that the state’s most vulnerable people are often communities of color, indigenous people and lower-income communities. “Climate…


Course | ENVIR 371, ANTH 371

Anthropology of Development

Development refers to social, economic, cultural, political transformations viewed as progress. Studied from anthropological perspectives. Historical, social context for emergence of ideas of development. Role of development in promoting national cultures. Impact of development on individual citizenship, families, rural-urban relations, workers, business, environment.

Course | ATM S 558

Atmospheric Chemistry

Photochemistry of urban, rural, and marine tropospheric air, and of the natural and perturbed ozone in the middle atmosphere. Unity of the chemistries in these apparently different regimes.

Scholar

Ben Packard

Visit scholar website

News | October 7, 2021

Bigleaf maple decline tied to hotter, drier summers in Washington

As its name suggests, the bigleaf maple tree’s massive leaves are perhaps its most distinctive quality. A native to the Pacific Northwest’s wet westside forests, these towering trees can grow leaves up to 1.5 feet across — the largest of any maple. But since 2011, scientists, concerned hikers and residents have observed more stressed and…


Degree Program

Bioresource Science and Engineering (BS)

Apply natural products chemistry, chemical processing, and material science to natural products and fiber based materials, including paper and biofuels.

Visit program website

News | June 11, 2024

Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound The Pandemic Alarm?

Reported by Kaiser Health News for  Patch PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford University infectious disease doctor Abraar Karan has seen a lot of patients with runny noses, fevers, and irritated eyes lately. Such symptoms could signal allergies, covid, or a cold. This year, there’s another suspect, bird flu — but there’s no way for most…


Scholar

Brian Collins

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Brian J. Harvey

Visit scholar website

News | February 20, 2020

Building Codes for ‘The Really Big One’ in Seattle

Earthquake experts say current building codes don’t reflect the riskiest features of the Seattle area’s geology — but the outlook for survivability looks a lot better if the Really Big One can just hold off for a few more years. The Cascadia subduction zone, centered along a submarine fault just off the West Coast, is…


News | April 14, 2021

Building high-rises, hotels and stadiums out of wood–for climate’s sake

It started as a dream that is slowly becoming a reality. “Maybe six or seven years ago, we set out to build the most sustainable football stadium that’s ever been built in the world,” said Dale Vince, the owner of the football club Forest Green Rovers, in Gloucestershire, in southwest England. Vince’s team has been working…


News | May 24, 2021

Built on pudding: Can modern quake engineering prevail?

This is the second of three stories about a little-known geologic fault that could trigger a major earthquake in Snohomish and Island counties. EVERETT — You’re strolling across a flat sandy beach, on the wet part, where the waves roll in and out. You stop to wiggle your toes. You sink. In an earthquake, this can happen…


News | July 19, 2023

Can virtual reality mimic nature’s power to make us healthier?

For decades, scientists have been exploring how exposing humans to nature—by planting trees along urban streets, visiting forests or even just growing houseplants—may improve physical and psychological health. Now researchers are also testing whether we can reap at least some of the same benefits from experiencing nature in virtual reality. This strange twist speaks to…


News | January 9, 2019

Carbon accountability: progress in work to reduce embodied carbon in construction materials

“We acknowledge that we hold this world in trust and recognize the immediate threat climate change and its impacts pose to current and future generations,” reads a statement signed this fall by more than 100 construction-related companies and nonprofits. “We must act urgently and collaboratively to transform the built environment from a leading driver of…


Scholar

Clare Ryan

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Cleo Wöelfle-Hazard

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Cliff Mass

Visit scholar website

News | February 6, 2020

Climate Change Modeling can help Plan the Future of Land Conservation

Many of the existing efforts to protect plant and animal species across the United States rely on information about where these species currently live. For example, if a rare bird species such as the snowy plover is found in a specific location along the Washington coast, conservationists try to protect it from human development where…


News | May 13, 2024

Cloud Brightening Study in California Is Halted by Local Officials

Researchers had been testing a sprayer that could one day be used to push a salty mist skyward, cooling the Earth. Officials stopped the work, citing health questions. Written by Christopher Flavelle for The New York Times. Officials in Alameda, Calif., have told scientists to stop testing a device that might one day be used…


News | June 17, 2015

Common Birds Bring Economic Vitality to Cities

Is it worth having birds in the city? If you live in Seattle or Berlin, the answer is yes, to the tune of $120 million and $70 million a year for each city, respectively.


News | April 16, 2020

Community science project tracks changes in bird behavior during coronavirus

The predictable, daily routines of humanity have all but stopped with the arrival of COVID-19. For most of us, we no longer head to the office each morning or have friends and family over for dinner in our homes. Our day-to-day activities now look entirely different than they did six weeks ago. But does this…


News | January 23, 2020

Considering wood as a sustainable building material

Architects, builders, and sustainability advocates are all abuzz over a new building material they say could substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the building sector, slash the waste, pollution, and costs associated with construction, and create a more physically, psychologically, and aesthetically healthy built environment. The material is known as, uh, wood. Recently, UW…


News | March 14, 2023

Could Walks in the Park Ward Off Postpartum Depression?

New moms who live on tree-lined streets may be somewhat less vulnerable to postpartum depression, according to a new study — the latest to link “green space” to better mental health. The study, of medical records from more than 415,000 new mothers, found that those living in urban areas with more tree coverage had a…


News | November 26, 2024

Creating multi-sector teams to build cities where everyone thrives.

Research-to-Action Teams 2024-25 In April of 2024 two teams were selected for participation in the second cohort of the Research to Action Collaboratory. For 18 months Urban@UW will work with these teams to provide seed funds, dedicated time to building team cohesion and collaboration skills, and opportunities for peer support, shared resources, and learning. These…


News | November 8, 2024

Crows hold grudges against individual humans for up to 17 years

Reported by Eric Falls for Earth.com Crows are more than just black-feathered figures cawing from treetops; they are masters of memory and grudges, with cognitive abilities that defy our expectations. While we often admire birds for their bright plumage and lilting songs, there is a deeper layer to their behavior that remains unseen. Birds are…


Course | SEFS 503

Current Issues in Restoration Ecology and Environmental Horticulture

Critical evaluation and discussion of published research in urban horticulture and restoration. Students and faculty present and discuss research methods and questions from current literature.

Scholar

Dan Jaffe

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Daniel Schindler

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Daniel Vogt

Visit scholar website

News | September 3, 2020

Data Science for Social Good fellows present their project results

This year, two interdisciplinary teams at the eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) program tackled timely issues, conducting projects to identify disinformation articles about the coronavirus and detect minority vote dilution resulting from geographic boundary setting in state, city, county and school board districts. On August 19th, the DSSG student fellows presented the results of their projects, conducted with…


News | September 23, 2019

Data Science for Social Good team analyzes equity of congestion pricing on Interstate 405

A team in the eScience Institute’s Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) program has partnered with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to study the usage patterns, price sensitivities and equity impacts of congestion pricing on Interstate 405. The project utilizes data on the more than 16 million trips taken in the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes of I-405…


Scholar

Dave Montgomery

Visit scholar website

Scholar

David Butman

Visit scholar website

News | December 31, 2016

December Recap – TC3, Urban Environmental Justice, Tech, and other Highlights

December concludes a complicated year. The past month has seen a variety of changes, new research, and reflections on life in Seattle, the tech world, urban environmental justice, and our campus. Urban@UW and Climate Impacts Group collaborated on the Urban Environmental Justice in a Time of Climate Change symposium. Urban@UW published a reflection on the…


News | April 22, 2020

Dose of nature even in your own backyard can help mental health during coronavirus pandemic

Many Washingtonians are spending more time in their homes or apartments due to the stay-at-home order to help slow the spread of coronavirus, which means they may be missing out on their usual weekend hikes and other nature escapes. But University of Washington researchers say you don’t have to go to a remote location to…


News | April 17, 2024

E-bike fires are sparking trouble in Seattle. Here’s how to use them safely.

Written by Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez for KUOW. Seattle’s streets have become home to hundreds of electronic bikes and scooters in recent years, with a growing number of commuters and hobbyists relying on them to get around. As usage of these lithium-ion battery powered devices grows, so has the number of fires in connection with them….


Center & Lab

EarthLab

As a Carnegie-classified Community Engagement University, the University of Washington (UW) aspires to be the #1 university in the world as measured by impact. EarthLab is a visionary institute at the UW that pushes boundaries to address our most pressing environmental challenges, with urgency and action on climate and its intersection with social justice. We…

Visit lab website

News | May 20, 2020

EarthLab announces Innovation Grant recipients for 2020

Research projects funded for 2020 by EarthLab’s Innovation Grants Program will study how vegetation might reduce pollution, help an Alaskan village achieve safety and resilience amid climate change, organize a California river’s restoration with tribal involvement, compare practices in self-managed indigenous immigrant communities and more. EarthLab is a University of Washington-wide institute connecting scholars with community…


News | April 8, 2024

Earthquake showed Taiwan was well prepared for a big one — more so than parts of U.S.

Originally reported by Evan Bush  for NBC News. The powerful earthquake in Taiwan on Wednesday shook an island that was well prepared for a seismic catastrophe — likely more so than some regions of the U.S., several experts said. Nine people have been reported dead, though Taiwanese officials said the death toll could rise in…


Degree Program

Ecological Restoration (ECORES) Minor

The minor in ecological restoration offered through the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences seeks to prepare students to address the complex relationships of human communities and ecological sustainability. The minor is a tri-campus initiative (UW Bothell, UW Seattle, and UW Tacoma). Students may, but are not required to, take courses from more than…

Visit program website

Course | ESRM 431 / ENVIR 431 / PSYCH 431

Ecopsychology

Explores psychology of the human relationship with nature. Critically examines how ecopsychology can impact urban sustainability, human health, environmental education, and the design of new technologies. Specific topics include evolutionary psychology; human-animal interaction; biophillia; children and nature; indigenous cultures; and ecotherapy.

Scholar

Ed Lazowska

Visit scholar website

Degree Program

Environmental and Forest Sciences (M.E.H., M.F.R., M.S., Ph.D.)

Advance basic and applied research dedicated to the stewardship of natural and managed environments and the sustainable use of their products and services.

Visit program website

Course | ENVIR 221, HSTAA 221

Environmental History of the U.S.

Surveys the relationship between nature and human history, including the impact of the non-human environment on American history and the environmental effects of colonization, urbanization, and consumerism; the cultural construction of nature in different eras and its social implications; the sources and limits of modern environmental politics.

Course | AES 211 / ANTH 211 / ENVIR 211

Environmental Justice

Examines introductory studies of environmental racism and ecological injustice in the United States and select areas of the world. Reviews environmental justice theories and methods applied to risk science, ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Includes comparative studies of social movements for "eco-justice."

Course | ENVIR 440

Environmental Pedagogy

Introduces the art of teaching in non-traditional settings. Designed to help students become effective environmental educators such as park naturalists, interpretive guides, or urban garden educators. Students learn pedagogical philosophy and gain stills to become more effective environmental educators.

Course | ENVIR 485 / ESRM 485

Environmental Planning and Permitting in Practice

Advanced survey of environmental planning and permitting as encountered by environmental and natural resource professionals in Washington State and beyond. Focuses on Washington State acts (SEPA, SMA, GMA) and Federal systems (NEPA, CWA ESA) that shape environmental land use planning and federal planning and permitting systems

Degree Program

Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management (BS, minor)

Students studying Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) learn about natural and human-dominated landscapes and how to apply this knowledge to real-world problems. With a focus on sustainability, students work with professors and regional experts on environmental issues. Fieldwork gives students enhanced opportunities for experiential learning and service in a rich contextual landscape.

Visit program website

Degree Program

Environmental Studies (BA, minor)

Environmental Studies at the Program on the Environment combines natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to provide students with a deep understanding of how humans interact with and influence the environment. Students learn to think critically, conduct research, apply sustainability frameworks, and communicate to diverse audiences.

Visit program website

Scholar

Erin Wirth Moriarty

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Ernesto Alvarado Celestin

Visit scholar website

News | April 27, 2016

Examing Urban Inequality, Vulnerability and Risk to Enhance Resilience with Dr. Lankao (5/11)

Dr. Patricia Romero Lankao / May 11th / 5:00-6:30pm / CMU 102 With the coming impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, extreme weather events, and drastic changes in water availability, it can be expected that prosperous, well-governed cities can generally adapt, at least for the next few decades – assuming global efforts at…


News | July 6, 2021

Food for thought: Urban lakes contaminated with arsenic pose consumption risk

After analyzing the human health risks of eating aquatic organisms from arsenic-contaminated urban lakes in the Puget Sound lowlands, UW researchers have a menu of concerns. Specifically, they found that consuming certain aquatic organisms in the lakes elevates cancer risk. “The idea was to focus on organisms that people might eat, so we studied snails,…


News | June 13, 2018

Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast

Large swaths of U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought, forest fires and disease. Many local impacts of forest loss are well known: drier soils, stronger winds, increased erosion, loss of shade and habitat. But if a whole forest disappears, new research shows, this has ricocheting effects in the atmosphere that can affect vegetation on the…


News | May 20, 2024

Global life expectancy is projected to increase by 5 years by 2050

Reported by Rodielon Putol for Earth A recent study from the prestigious Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021 reveals an encouraging trend: global life expectancy is expected to rise by nearly five years by 2050, despite various global challenges. According to the findings published in The Lancet, life expectancy for males is projected to…


Scholar

Gordon Bradley

Visit scholar website

Degree Program

Graduate Certificate in Climate Science

Combines interdisciplinary courses, specifically designed to address the cross-linkages in the earth system not found in disciplinary curricula, with a capstone in climate science communication.

Visit program website

News | March 31, 2021

Green ways to keep food trucks clean

Originally published by UW Bothell.  Nearly everyone who has undertaken a heavy-duty cleaning job with a concentrated chemical has likely gasped for air. Your nose, throat and eyes irritated, you realize why product labels recommend ample ventilation and wonder if you might be doing something wrong. A common and potentially fatal mistake is mixing ammonia…


Scholar

Greg Bratman

Visit scholar website

News | June 26, 2015

Group at UW shows how to account for nature’s benefits in decisions

The Natural Capital Project is working to understand how people value nature and the services it provides, to better inform decision makers and promote smarter decisions for both the planet and the economy. The project began from a partnership between Stanford University and the University of Minnesota following the UN’s Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The Organization’s…


Scholar

Guillaume Mauger

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Harold Tobin

Visit scholar website

News | April 22, 2024

Has the US finally figured out how to do high-speed rail?

Written by Jeremy Hsu for NewScientist. Construction began today on the first true high-speed rail line in the US, which will connect Los Angeles suburbanites to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only should the project enable people in the US to finally experience European and Asian standards of speedy passenger trains, it…


News | February 27, 2020

Health and Well-Being Linked to Wilderness in Urban Parks

As metropolises balloon with growth and sprawl widens the footprint of cities around the world, access to nature for people living in urban areas is becoming harder to find.If you’re lucky, a pocket park might be installed next to a new condominium complex on your block, or perhaps a green roof tops the building where…


News | August 2, 2022

Heat wave serves WA a lesson in climate adaptation, mitigation

For better or worse, this heat wave is forcing Washington to recognize and confront the impacts of climate change. Last year’s “heat dome,” while jarring and traumatic for many, was an exceptional event. Earlier this week, King County officials warned that wildfires near Seattle, once thought impossible, are a growing threat. While that would be…


News | June 17, 2024

Here’s what homeowners can do to prevent one of the leading causes of death for birds

Originally reported by for King 5 by Erica Zucco. SEATTLE — U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other agencies say one of the leading causes of death in birds is colliding with buildings. Birds fly at a high rate of speed and don’t recognize glass as a barrier, often ending in mortality. University of Washington researcher…


News | June 11, 2024

Here’s why an Arizona medical examiner is working to track heat-related deaths

Written by Alejandra Borunda for NPR News Greg Hess deals with death day in, day out. Hess is the medical examiner for Pima County, Ariz., a region along the United States-Mexico border. His office handles some 3,000 deaths each year — quiet deaths, overdoses, gruesome deaths, tragic ones. From April through October every year, Hess…


News | October 19, 2021

Home after fire: A new housing model aims to give kids stability

When the Almeda Fire hit southern Oregon on Labor Day weekend just over a year ago, Christy Brooks was on her way home from her daughters’ school after picking up books and a computer in preparation for the coming year. The air was smoky and smelled burnt, but Brooks doesn’t remember feeling overly concerned. She…


News | March 8, 2017

Honoring Women Collaborators at Urban@UW

In honor of International Women’s Day, we are highlighting just some of UW’s brilliant female professors, scholars, and and change-makers with whom Urban@UW is proud to collaborate. Click on their names to explore their work.   Leadership: Thaisa Way, Executive Director, Urban@UW; Department of Landscape Architecture Executive Committee: Margaret O’Mara, Department of History Susan P….


News | April 4, 2024

How do wildfires affect mental health? A new UW study examines the connection

Originally reported in the Seattle Times by Taylor Blatchford Checking air quality and staying indoors when smoke inundates the Seattle area has become second nature during Washington’s wildfire season in recent years. But new research highlights how wildfires can affect a less visible aspect of well-being: mental health. A University of Washington study published in…


News | August 12, 2019

How nature can improve your family’s mental health

People who study health outcomes – and any parent with common sense – have long known that having access to a green space is important for health. From decreased asthma and obesity to increased immunities and quality sleep, exposure to the outdoors is good for everyone. But a large, growing body of evidence, captured in a new meta-study, reveals that experiences in nature have especially…


News | November 27, 2021

How one Northwest tribe aims to keep its cool as its glaciers melt

Record-breaking heat took a heavy toll on the Northwest this summer, from beaches to cities to mountaintops. In the Washington Cascades, some glaciers lost an unprecedented 8% to 10% of their ice in a single hot season. For many residents, the snow and ice missing from the volcanoes poking up on the horizon was jarring….


News | October 18, 2024

How to avoid sharing election misinformation

Reported by Audrey Nguyen for NPR The 2024 election season is upon us. While Election Day is November 5, early voting started in September in some states. As we wait for the final results to be declared, chances are, you’re going to come across false or misleading information. To avoid spreading misinformation this election season,…


News | August 1, 2019

How to consider nature’s impact on mental health in city plans

Almost one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental illness. That statistic is similar worldwide, with an estimated 450 million people currently dealing with a mental or neurological disorder. Of those, only about a third seek treatment. Interacting with nature is starting to be recognized as one way to improve mental health. A number of scientific…


News | September 2, 2021

How wildfires disproportionately affect people of color

Disasters in the U.S. often hit minority groups the hardest. Hurricane Katrina disproportionately impacted Black residents in New Orleans in 2005. In California, massive wildfires are a concern. Wildfires have unequal effects on minority communities. A 2018 study shows mostly Black, Hispanic, or Native American communities experience 50% greater vulnerability to wildfires compared with primarily white communities in the…


Scholar

Ian Miller

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Indroneil Ganguly

Visit scholar website

News | November 30, 2021

Infrastructure matters for wildlife too – here’s how aging culverts are blocking Pacific salmon migration

Environmental and Forest Sciences Ph.D. Candidate Ashlee Abrantes, shares a perspective on how wildlife depend on urban infrastructure in this op-ed written for The Conversation.  — As the Biden administration prepares to make the biggest investment in U.S. infrastructure in more than a decade, there’s much discussion about how systems like roads, bridges and electric power grids…


News | January 8, 2020

Is Seattle really the gloomiest city in America? Psychological data debunk finding

A recent study named Seattle the No. 1 “gloomiest place in America.” The website Bestplaces.net, which ranks locations on all kinds of qualities, created a “gloom index” for the largest cities in the nation, based on weather data during the darkest months of the year. The index ranked the cities by looking at percentage of cloud cover,…


News | May 18, 2023

It’s Not Just Climate Disasters. “Normal” Weather Is Getting Weirder, Too.

It’s been a strange few weeks for weather across the US. A dust storm in Illinois earlier this month led to a 72-vehicle pileup that killed seven people. In April, more than 25 inches of rain — 88 billion gallons — drenched Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wisconsin declared an emergency as more than 80 wildfires ignited…


Scholar

Jan Newton

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Jason Vogel

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Jeffery Cordell

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Jen Davison

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Joe Casola

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Joel Thornton

Visit scholar website

Scholar

John Marzluff

Visit scholar website

Scholar

John Vidale

Visit scholar website

News | November 26, 2024

Join Urban@UW in creating innovative solutions for city dwellers, today and into the future.

Support Urban@UW Urban@UW extends the understanding of cities—from people, buildings, infrastructure, and energy to economics, policy, culture, art, and nature—beyond individual topics to dynamically interdependent systems, so that we can holistically design and steward vibrant and welcoming cities in which future generations will thrive. Urban@UW works with scholars, policymakers, and community stakeholders to develop cross-disciplinary…


Scholar

Joshua Lawler

Visit scholar website

News | February 22, 2017

Julian Agyeman: A Brief Reading List

Julian Agyeman, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University, will be delivering a talk at the University of Washington on February 28 at 7:30pm. Agyeman was originally trained as an ecologist and biogeographer before turning to critical urban studies and environmental social science. Agyeman’s scholarship challenges basic notions of sustainability through…


Scholar

Julian Olden

Visit scholar website

News | July 28, 2022

King County hoping to close heat disparity gap in low-income areas

Earlier this year, King County announced it is developing a heat strategy plan to better handle extreme heat waves. But data shows certain neighborhoods — particularly lower income areas — tend to get much hotter. Those behind the heat strategy say they’re hoping to close that heat disparity gap. The hottest areas are in south…


News | August 18, 2023

King County Shows Off Salmon Habitat Where Once Stood a Hotel

The project started as a rundown hotel in a sea of asphalt. Now Chinook Wind is a wetland, a restored salmon habitat and a hook-shaped estuary where waters rise and fall with the tides and native plants blanket the shore. The transformation is almost as extraordinary as the one that turned the Duwamish River from…


Course | ESRM 480

Landscape Plant Science and Sustainable Management

Principles and practices of plant management in urban and modified landscapes. Physiological basis for plant management and selection; site analysis and preparation; plant installation and aftercare; plant performance evaluation; long-term sustainable management and plant health care.

News | September 2, 2016

Landscaping for Drought Could Make Warm Nights Cooler

As drought-stricken residents of Los Angeles’s hottest neighborhoods replace thirsty lawns with native plants, pavers and bare soil, new research has shown how their local climates could begin tipping back in the direction of their desert-like origins. Nighttime lows help people recover daily even as heat waves persist. In a region beset this year by…


News | November 14, 2019

Latest science shows how the ‘biggest one’ will unfold in the Northwest

The shaking from a magnitude 9-plus earthquake felt in western Washington’s population centers will vary depending on the epicenter of the quake. “Where the earthquake starts really matters,” said Erin Wirth, an affiliate assistant professor of Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) and a research geophysicist  for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) based at the University of…


News | April 26, 2024

Leave the imported shrimp, take the local bivalves: sustainable seafood choices

Reported by Kim Malcolm and John O’Brien for KUOW, a NPR news station.  Seafood and the Pacific Northwest go hand in hand. Maybe you’re one of those people out fishing, clamming, and crabbing during the season. But if you’re more of a shopper, your options aren’t all local and sustainable. Jessica Gephart is an assistant professor…


News | July 18, 2019

Lessons from California earthquakes: What Seattle should know about ‘basin effects’

Ridgecrest, California was hit with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on the morning of July 4, followed by a magnitude 7.1 quake in the same area on July 5. Despite being 125 miles from the epicenter, people in Los Angeles felt long-lasting shaking. This is because of something called “basin effects” — and Seattle should take…


News | July 6, 2023

Lessons Learned from the Pacific Northwest’s 2021 Heat Dome

Two years after the deadliest weather-related disaster in Washington state history, public officials are taking stock. High pressure locked the area in a heat dome for a week, starting June 26. It broke dozens of temperature records, killed hundreds of people and sent hundreds more to hospitals, unprepared for the unprecedented heat, especially so early…


News | February 27, 2020

Links Between Weather in Seattle and Bali

Seattle, along with the rest of the U.S. West Coast, has seen a decrease in rainfall between 1981-2018. UW scientists think a phenomenon called the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) might be to blame. A stormy disturbance that occurs several times a year in the tropics, the MJO is similar to the El Nino Southern Oscillation, which…


Scholar

Lisa Graumlich

Visit scholar website

News | August 30, 2024

Living in tree-filled neighborhoods may reduce risk of heart disease, study shows

Written by Kaitlin Sullivan and Anne Thompson for NBC News Living in a tree-filled neighborhood may be as beneficial to the heart as regular exercise, new research shows. Researchers at the University of Louisville designed a clinical trial that followed hundreds of people living in six low- to middle-income neighborhoods in South Louisville, Kentucky. They…


News | August 17, 2021

Living Landscapes Incubator Request for Proposals

The Living Landscapes Incubator is a new grant program, developed as a collaboration among the College of Built Environments, the College of the Environment, Urban@UW, and the School of Public Health. Planning and designing for landscapes, environments, and infrastructure that support sustainable, livable, and equitable communities is a key challenge of our time. With generous funding from…


News | March 13, 2024

Looking inward for pollution In his latest research, Dr. Dan Jaffe looks to the kitchen as a source for indoor pollution in the home.

Excerpted from the University of Washington- Bothell website.  For more than 30 years, Dr. Dan Jaffe has spent his career researching outdoor air pollution and its many sources — from wildfires to fossil fuels. In recent years, however, his curiosity has shifted inward as he looks to answer the question: “How clean is our indoor…


Scholar

LuAnne Thompson

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Meade Krosby

Visit scholar website

News | August 29, 2019

Mental health benefits of nature should influence city planning, says UW study

City planners should consider the mental health benefits of green spaces when making plans for the future of their cities. That’s according to a new study out of University of Washington that says urban green spaces can help improve mental health. The study found that accounting for the economic impacts of these benefits might help cities prioritize…


News | August 1, 2016

Midsummer in Full Swing, A July Recap

While we are in the midst of a beautiful summer, things at the University of Washington and at Urban@UW are moving right along. We’ve seen some original writing, research, and even a podcast come out of community covering topics from marine noise pollution to data science and minimum wage to police reforms. The eScience Institute…


Scholar

Miles Logsdon

Visit scholar website

Degree Program

Minor in Climate Science

Explore the science of climate in a multidisciplinary context.

Visit program website

Scholar

Monika Moskal

Visit scholar website

News | January 31, 2016

Monthly Wrap up January 2016

It’s been a great start to 2016. UW Alumni association and History Department put together a woderful history lecture series: Excavating Seattle’s histories: Peoples, politics, and place check out details and videos here> The CBE also hosted a number of great speakers and events including SUSTAINING JAPAN: 3.11 FIVE YEARS ON lecture and panel discussion…


News | July 19, 2024

More Than 1 Trillion Microbes Live Inside the Average Tree Trunk

Reported by Erik Stokstad for Science  The wood inside the average tree might seem barren, but it’s home to an incredibly diverse array of life. More than 1 trillion fungi, bacteria, and other microbes live inside the average trunk, according to the most comprehensive survey yet conducted, comprising unique communities specialized to various tree species….


News | March 12, 2021

Nature & Health Speaks: Beyond Inclusive Design with The Eli’s Park Project

The Eli’s Park Project is committed to carrying on Eli’s legacy of love through a community-led renovation of the Burke-Gilman Playground Park. They are working with the community to create an accessible, inclusive, nature-based park where people of all ages and abilities can find play and peace. The reimagining and manifestation of this new, inclusive Burke-Gilman Playground…


News | February 26, 2021

New ‘ShakeAlert’ earthquake warning system to launch in Washington in May; drill next week

Washingtonians will soon have a new tool to be more prepared for the “really big one” — a major earthquake event. A new “ShakeAlert” earthquake early warning system will begin rolling out in both Oregon and Washington this spring with the ability to sent an alert to wireless devices, giving residents crucial seconds to prepare for shaking….


News | May 26, 2017

New Seattle seawall aims to improve waterfront salmon habitat

Seattle’s new $410 million downtown waterfront is also acting as a huge science experiment.If you walk the area from Colman Dock to the Seattle Aquarium, you’d notice glass panels lining the sidewalk.“I thought it was just something to make the pier pretty,” said Emily Fuller, who visiting Seattle with her family. The panels actually form…


News | July 14, 2016

New Tech Could Restore Some Quiet To Noisy Oceans

Forty feet below the surface of Puget Sound, a marbled murrelet dives for its catch. The water is cold, dark — and incredibly noisy. A ping-ping-ping emanates from the shore over second-long intervals and continues on for the next several hours, sending a series of pressure waves through the ocean. For the endangered bird, these…


News | July 19, 2022

New tsunami warning to those in Seattle: If the earth starts shaking, get to higher ground ASAP

If a really big earthquake hits offshore from Seattle, the city’s shorelines could be struck with massive tsunami waves within a matter of three minutes. In a worst-case scenario, the waves hitting Seattle’s Magnolia Bluff neighborhood could crest at 33 feet high. That’s the grim warning from a report out Thursday from the Washington State…


News | August 11, 2021

New UW collaboratory to support equitable and just climate action

An interdisciplinary group of University of Washington researchers has teamed with Front and Centered to create an innovative Collaboratory to promote just and equitable climate action. The Collaboratory aims to respond to climate change impacts with attention to equitable mitigation and adaptation solutions. It will feature three linked platforms to achieve this goal through a…


News | August 16, 2022

New UW study shows how COVID lockdowns affected Northwest birds

While the unusual quiet of the pandemic’s first months was hard on many people, it allowed birds in the Pacific Northwest to use a wider range of habitats, according to a newly published University of Washington study. The study, published Thursday in Scientific Reports, found that in Pacific Northwest cities under lockdown, birds were just…


News | January 5, 2017

New wood technology may offer hope for struggling timber

John Redfield watches with pride as his son moves a laser-guided precision saw the size of a semi-truck wheel into place over a massive panel of wood. Redfield’s fingers are scarred from a lifetime of cutting wood and now, after decades of decline in the logging business, he has new hope that his son, too,…


News | May 2, 2024

New York cities plagued by blackouts due to climate change, study finds

Written by Saul Elbein for The Hill. Climate change is pushing some New York City neighborhoods into dozens of nearly daylong blackouts per year, a new study has found. Large swaths of the state’s principal towns and cities faced repeated, protracted and dangerous weather-driven power outages between 2017 and 2020, according to findings published Wednesday in…


Scholar

Nives Dolšak

Visit scholar website

News | January 19, 2024

Northwest innovators chase the dream of greener concrete

From The Seattle Times By Mike Lindblom PULLMAN — From a onetime speakeasy in North Seattle to a modern lab in the Palouse, inventors are testing recipes that make concrete less lethal to Earth’s climate. Most people understand that the world’s 1.4 billion fossil-fueled cars and trucks spew carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere….


News | April 23, 2016

Office Hours With John Vidale, UW Seismologist

John Vidale is a professor at the University of Washington in the Earth & Space Sciences Department specializing in seismology, particularly around the Cascadia Fault Zone and while there’s been a lot of talk (read: worry and fear) about the Cascadia Subduction Zone this geologist isn’t panicking. John talks to us about the problem of…


News | March 29, 2024

Office-to-residential conversion is a trendy idea for downtown resurgence — but has big challenges

Originally published in Geekwire Written by Chuck Wolfe, longtime affiliate associate professor in College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. Office-to-residential conversions are frequent fodder in discussions of the post-pandemic city, downtown regeneration, and hopes to contain rising housing costs. Remote work is here to stay, especially in hybrid form in the tech-centric…


News | May 14, 2021

Opinion: The lack of EV charging stations could limit EV growth

Originally written by Nives Dolšak, professor at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and Aseem Prakash, professor at the University of Washington Department of Political Science.  Transportation contributes to about 28% of U.S. carbon emissions. To cut emissions by 50% by 2030, this sector will need to be rapidly decarbonized. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are…


News | September 5, 2019

Over 4,100 earthquakes strike west of Puget Sound, but you can’t feel them

West of Puget Sound, the ground is trembling — but even if you live over there, you probably wouldn’t know it. An episodic tremor and slip (ETS) event appears to be underway, according to scientists at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. ETS tends to happen once every 14 months or so, when the Cascadia subduction zone gets a…


Scholar

P. Joshua Griffin

Visit scholar website

News | April 3, 2020

Pacific Northwest may see temporary drop in emissions due to social distancing

A small silver lining of coronavirus social distancing measures is we are likely experiencing a temporary drop in emissions, experts say. NASA satellite images show significant drops in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air above China after lockdowns went into effect. Similar satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows reductions in Italy, which is also keeping people…


News | November 25, 2020

Pandemic streets showed the promise of car-free Seattle

One morning in early April, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic’s first wave, Gordon Padelford watched one man with a pickup truck leaving “local access only” signs and traffic cones along 25th Avenue South in the Central District. A longtime advocate of pedestrian and cycling street access, Padelford held his breath: Would the low-budget infrastructure really work?…


Scholar

Penelope Dalton

Visit scholar website

News | September 19, 2017

People of color exposed to more pollution from cars, trucks, power plants during 10-year period

A new nationwide study finds that the U.S. has made little progress from 2000 to 2010 in reducing relative disparities between people of color and whites in exposure to harmful air pollution emitted by cars, trucks and other combustion sources. The groundbreaking study led by University of Washington Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Julian…


News | August 20, 2024

Permeable pavement could help cities be more resilient to flooding

Reported by Stéphane Blais for La Presse Canadienne and the Toronto Sun. Pilot projects are being developed across Quebec to make parking lots, bike paths or portions of streets more resilient to climate change. To make cities more resilient to flooding caused by climate change, researchers are developing more permeable pavements to allow water to…


Scholar

Peter Kahn

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Phil Levin

Visit scholar website

Course | ESRM 411

Plant Propagation: Principles and Practice

Science and practice of plant propagation including sexual (seed) and asexual (cutting, layering, grafting) propagation. Includes discussion of physiological effects, methodology and laboratory exercises. Wide variety of plants covered. Intended for majors in urban horticulture and urban forestry and others interested in reproducing landscape plants.

News | October 11, 2024

Pollinator Village Built by Future Designers

Reported by the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. Photo by Alex Blair. This past summer, the College of Built Environments (CBE) partnered with Sawhorse Revolution, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering confident, community-driven youth through the power of carpentry and craft, to host a transformative three-week intensive program on campus. Fifteen…


Course | SEFS 561

Public Presentation in Urban Horticulture

Students learn to make public presentations in scientific, professional, and popular contexts and to interpret technical information for professional and lay audiences. Support materials, such as audiovisuals and graphics are discussed.

News | May 4, 2016

Quick Recap: A Busy April!

April saw a lot of wonderful developments here at the University of Washington, here’s a quick recap: Our first Office Hours interview with John Vidale (more coming of these soon!) UW researchers continued to explore the effects of a $15/hr minimum wage. PBS premiered their 10 Parks that Changed America program featuring our own Thaisa…


News | April 17, 2024

Quiet! Our Loud World Is Making Us Sick

Written by Joanne Silberner for Scientific America. Ten years ago Jamie Banks started working from her home in the town of ­Lincoln, Mass. After a couple of months, the continuing racket from landscaping machines began to feel unendurable, even when she was inside her home. “This horrible noise was going on for hours every day, every…


News | February 24, 2021

Racial disparities prompt calls to repeal King County’s bicycle helmet law

In the fall of 2019, a white man spat on Edwin Lindo while he was riding his bicycle with a friend around Mercer Island. “It gets on my jersey and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening right now,’” he recalled. Lindo, who identifies as Central American Indigenous from Nicaragua and El Salvador, and his friend,…


News | May 7, 2016

Reading List for Patricia Romero Lankao Visit 5/11

In anticipation of Patricia Romero Lankao’s visit we thought you might enjoy these pieces to get a feel for her research and thinking. Water in Mexico City: What Will Climate Change Bring to Its History of Water-Related Hazards and Vulnerabilities?—This research paper delves into the history and evolution of water related risks and crises in…


News | December 20, 2016

Reflections on Urban Environmental Justice in a Time of Climate Change

On November 7th and 8th Urban@UW, in collaboration with the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group (CIG), hosted a symposium to begin transdisciplinary conversation on the multifaceted dynamics and consequences of Urban Environmental Justice in a Time of Climate Change (UEJ). Below are some reflections from this event, and a sample of the resources we’ll…


News | September 16, 2024

Register Today for Urban@UW’s presentation at Climate Week NYC

Urban@UW is heading to the big apple for Climate Week NYC, the largest international conference of business leaders, political change makers, scientists, and civil society representatives working for climate action. Rachel Berney, Faculty Director, and Kate Landis, Program Manager, will present “Call Me, Maybe? University-Community Partnerships for a Greener Tomorrow” on Monday, 9/23, from 5-7PM….


News | June 17, 2024

Rekindling Our Relationship with Wildfire

Written for the Climate One podcast, hosted by Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious. Summer is just around the corner, and in addition to travel and vacation, that also means peak wildfire season. Recently we’ve seen some of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history. The images on the news of orange skies and opaque haze…


News | January 8, 2016

Research Spotlight: An Octopus’ Garden in the Urban Underwater Environment

Eliza is a Ph.D. candidate in the UW Department of Biology and a graduate fellow in the IGERT Program on Ocean Change. She studies urban marine ecosystems under the guidance of Dr. Ken Sebens. If you like what you read below, check out her blog at www.urbanmarineecology.org. In 1955, Columbia Pictures released the thriller It…


Course | ESRM 479

Restoration Design

Covers the design process in ecosystem restoration by presenting a series of weekly design problems that students solve as teams. Categorizes problems by disturbance type, including restoration necessitated by agriculture, urbanization, salt-marsh filling or diking, construction of transport corridors, etc. Includes a team design portfolio.

Scholar

Richard Keil

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Rishi Sugla

Visit scholar website

News | February 3, 2016

Risk of lead poisoning from urban gardening is low, new study finds

Using compost is the single best thing you can do to protect your family from any danger associated with lead in urban soils. Good compost will also guarantee that you will have plenty of vegetables to harvest. That’s the main finding of a paper appearing this month in the Journal of Environmental Quality. The University…


Scholar

Ryan Hasert

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Ryan Kelly

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Sally Brown

Visit scholar website

News | May 26, 2022

Scenic Tacoma road permanently closed to cars. Blame climate change

Crumbling cliffs have led Metro Parks Tacoma to permanently close two miles of Five Mile Drive, a popular park road built atop the bluffs of Tacoma’s Point Defiance 109 years ago. City officials are blaming climate change for the worsening erosion of a 150-foot-tall sea bluff that frames the Point Defiance peninsula as it juts…


News | June 24, 2019

Seattle upgrades A/C at some community centers ahead of predicted wildfires

It wasn’t a picture postcard August last year in Seattle. Seattle icons, the Space Needle, ferries crossing the water, the Great Wheel spinning colorfully on the waterfront were barely visible because of smoke from Canadian wildfires. The Emerald City saw 24 days of moderately unhealthy levels of particulates in the air during the summer because…


News | August 28, 2019

Seismic ‘slow-slip’ event happening now, but will it increase the chance of an earthquake?

Seismologists are monitoring a seismic event that they say is happening right now. It’s called a “slow-slip” event. According to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, this event happens about every 14 months. PNSN has been tracking it for about two decades, ever since the Nisqually earthquake. Think of Earth as…


News | May 21, 2016

Seismic Neglect: Buildings and Earthquakes

Seismic Neglect | In the first part of a continuing series, The Seattle Times examined officials’ neglect of the most vulnerable kind of building: old, brick structures called unreinforced masonry. Here are answers to some common questions about those buildings. The Northwest is threatened by earthquakes far more destructive than anything Washington state has experienced…


News | September 29, 2016

September Recap – News, Big Data, and Monthly Hightlights

September is nearly gone, but this was not a very sleepy month. The University of Washington has started the new school year and the past month has seen some tremendous developments for urban thinking and the City of Seattle. KQED published a piece about urban heat islands and how changes in landcover from hard-scapes and…


News | September 13, 2024

Shhh! The orcas can’t hear their dinner

Reported by John Ryan for KUOW/NPR When an orca hunts salmon, it clicks and buzzes. It sends a beam of sounds from its nasal passages into the murky depths in hopes that the sound waves will bounce back and reveal the location of its next nutritious meal. Those hopes are often dashed when noise from…


News | August 23, 2023

Should Governments Be Blamed for Climate Change? How One Lawsuit Could Change US Policies

A landmark ruling saying Montana has a constitutional duty to guard residents from the harmful effects of climate change could have wider implications, environmental experts said. In a decision Monday lauded by activists as a potential turning point for the environmental movement, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley sided with young plaintiffs who claimed state policies…


News | April 22, 2024

Skip the Traffic: Commuters Turn to Ferries to Get Around

Written by Linda Baker for The New York Times. As remote work reshapes the way people live and travel around cities, Americans are taking to the waterways not only as part of their commute but also as part of their daily lives. Some coastal cities are seeing ferry ridership bounce back after a decline during…


News | July 11, 2019

Smoke from Alaska fires has reached the Northwest

Seattle is experiencing smoke from an estimated 120 wildfires burning in interior and south-central Alaska, as the 49th State goes through a late spring-early summer heat wave, according to University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor Cliff Mass. “Although there are no wildfires in the Pacific Northwest right now, there are many large fires burning over Alaska producing lots…


Course | ESRM 200

Society and Sustainable Environments

Introduces the application of social concepts and theories to understanding and managing urban, urbanizing and wildland landscapes in a sustainable manner. Of particular interest are factors that shape patterns on the landscape and resulting social and economic benefits. Explores landscapes across the urban to wildland gradient.

Course | ESRM 311

Soils and Land Use

Intended for students concerned with environmental problems in the Puget Sound basin; also for those who intend to become professionally involved in land-planning decisions. Focus is on the significance of soils in understanding environmental problems and in promoting intelligent land-use decisions. Basic concepts of soil systems are presented, stressing those aspects important in making land-planning decisions.

News | January 5, 2017

Songbirds divorce, flee, fail to reproduce due to suburban sprawl

Suburban development is forcing some songbirds to divorce, pack up and leave and miss their best chances for successful reproduction. As forested areas increasingly are converted to suburbs, birds that live on the edge of our urban footprint must find new places to build their nests, breed and raise fledglings. New research published Dec. 28…


Scholar

Soo-Hyung Kim

Visit scholar website

News | November 16, 2021

Spark Grants foster research on community-centered environmental infrastructure, supporting collaborations amidst pandemic

Over the past year, two teams of researchers from the University of Washington tackled a host of urban challenges in our region with the support of Urban@UW’s Research Spark Grants. In August 2020 grants of up to $20,000 were awarded to amplify collaborative research-to-practice with a focus on today’s urban issues. Two UW teams of…


Scholar

Stephen M. Gardiner

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Stevan Harrell

Visit scholar website

Scholar

Steven Walters

Visit scholar website

News | April 7, 2020

Study synthesizes what climate change means for Northwest wildfires

Recent years have brought unusually large and damaging wildfires to the Pacific Northwest – from the Carlton Complex Fire in 2014 that was the largest in Washington’s history, to the 2017 fire season in Oregon, to the 2018 Maple Fire, when normally sodden rainforests on the Olympic Peninsula were ablaze. Many people have wondered what this means for our…


Scholar

Susan M. Bolton

Visit scholar website

Course | ENVIR 415 / CEE 495 / ME 415

Sustainability and Design for Environment

Analysis and design of technology systems within the context of the environment, economy, and society. Applies the concepts of resource conservation, pollution prevention, life cycle assessment, and extended product responsibility. Examines the practice, opportunities, and role of engineering, management, and public policy.

Course | ESRM 201

Sustaining Pacific Northwest Ecosystems

Introduces the principles of ecology across an urban to wildland gradient and discusses how these landscapes can be sustainably managed. Explores basic ecological theories, plant communities, soil, climate, pollution, hydrology, and wildlife in classroom, labs, and field trips

News | August 17, 2020

Systemic racism has consequences for all life in cities

Social inequalities, specifically racism and classism, are impacting the biodiversity, evolutionary shifts, and ecological health of plants and animals in our cities. That’s the main finding of a review paper led by the University of Washington, with co-authors at the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Michigan, which examined more than 170 published studies and analyzed…


News | September 26, 2019

Tall buildings out of timber? In the face of climate change, Seattle encourages it

The loggers who worked in Ballard when it was Shingletown, a center of the national timber industry, are long gone. And only a few wooden landmarks of the timber heyday, mostly churches, still exist on Ballard’s low-slung skyline. But as concerns over climate change give new life to wooden building design, that could change. In the…


Scholar

Terrie Klinger

Visit scholar website

News | June 16, 2022

Testing a new time-traveling VR experience that explores sea level rise in Seattle

The Seattle Public Library and the University of Washington have created a virtual reality experience for teens and families that explores climate change and its impacts on sea-level rise in Seattle’s industrialized Duwamish River and South Park neighborhood. “We want to reclaim the idea of the Duwamish River as it was before, and bring awareness…


News | October 24, 2019

The potential of green urban planning for mental health

Neighborhood architects, engineers, and policymakers look at all kinds of factors and needs when building a city, including transportation links, housing, aesthetics, amenities, and so forth. Natural spaces are also considered, for their aesthetic, recreational, and ecological benefits. A study published in July in Science Advances outlines a model that will let policymakers see nature’s impacts on…


News | August 30, 2024

The pros and cons of spraying pesticides to keep disease-carrying mosquito populations down

Written by Julia Jacobo for ABC News Researchers are trying to find ways to quell growing mosquito populations that spread disease without putting recovering populations of important pollinators like bees and butterflies at risk. Pesticides are an important management tool for mosquito control as well as for other pests that impact agriculture, Laura Melissa Guzman, assistant…


News | July 15, 2024

The Quinault Nation and the Rising Pacific

Written by Hallie Golden for the Associated Press TAHOLAH, Wash. (AP) — Standing water lies beneath the home Sonny Curley shares with his parents and three children on the Quinault reservation a few steps from the Pacific Ocean in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The back deck is rotting, and black mold speckles the walls inside, leaving…


Course | ENVIR 240

The Urban Farm

Develops students' understanding the ecological connections between food production, human health, and planetary sustainability. Teaches basic skills needed for food production in urban areas and the ethics behind sustainable urban agriculture, including a hands-on component on the farm at the biology greenhouse.

News | December 13, 2022

The UW Botanic Gardens is working toward creating a diverse and accessible space for all

Taking advantage of the non-rainy days, many people go out for a walk, ride their bikes, or take their dogs out on the twisting paths of the Washington Park Arboretum, part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG). With the implementation of new staff in the past year and a half, and new practices…


News | April 27, 2023

The UW Is a Core Member of Newly Announced New York Climate Exchange

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island on April 24 announced that a consortium led by Stony Brook University will found and develop a world-leading climate solutions center on Governors Island in the city’s harbor. The New York Climate Exchange will be a first-of-its kind international center for developing and…


News | June 5, 2024

The West’s wetlands are struggling. Some have been overlooked altogether.

Written by Natalia Mesa for High Country News On a warm day in August, Anthony Stewart hiked through a forest on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, making his way through a tangle of ferns and grasses. Wispy, lichen-coated branches hung overhead, providing shade as he set down his backpack and shovel, and he and his team prepared…


News | July 8, 2019

This kayaking researcher is learning the secrets of Seattle’s urban salmon

Salmon researcher Kerry Accola is standing on the docks at Seattle’s Bell Harbor Marina on the edge of Elliott Bay. “There’s salmon right there. You can see them,” she says, gesturing toward a nearshore abyss. The setting sun reflects off the water’s surface, making it difficult to see anything more than bits of trash. But Accola…


News | August 1, 2019

Trees an oasis of mental well-being

City dwellers who live on tree-lined streets might be happier and healthier for it, a large new study suggests. The study, of nearly 47,000 urban residents, found that those who lived in areas shaded by tree canopy reported less psychological distress and better general health over six years. Green grass, on the other hand, didn’t…


News | January 9, 2024

Univ. of Washington set to break ground on 69-acre redevelopment to create Seattle innovation hub

The University of Washington this year expects to break ground on a new building that will anchor an ambitious, innovation-focused redevelopment called Portage Bay Crossing. The project will cover 69 acres of the southwest portion of the Seattle campus, revitalizing and unifying an area of buildings that officials called old and underutilized. UW leaders recently…


Center & Lab

University of Washington Botanic Gardens

The University of Washington Botanic Gardens has two sites: the Washington Park Arboretum and the Center for Urban Horticulture. Our mission is sustaining managed to natural ecosystems and the human spirit through plant research, display, and education. The 230-acre Arboretum includes a vibrant collection of more than 40,000 plants from around the world with trails…

Visit lab website

News | March 13, 2024

University of Washington study finds cities must prioritize youth mental health

Excerpted from KOIN/Channel Six in Portland Written by Michaela Bourgeois Researchers at the University of Washington conducted an international survey that found cities need to focus on youth mental health as younger generations flock to urban areas. Starting in April 2020, researchers worked with the nonprofit citiesRISE to survey over 500 people in 53 countries…


News | June 29, 2021

Urban areas of King County feel heat waves the most, study finds

Areas of King County with more paved landscapes and less tree canopy are feeling the heat more intensely than less urbanized areas, according to a new study from King County and the city of Seattle. More urbanized areas were as much as 20 degrees hotter due to an abundance of hard surfaces like parking lots, rooftops and…


News | April 22, 2019

Urban coyote evolution favors the bold

Coyotes become fearless around people in just a few generations—which isn’t good for their longterm co-existence with humans in cities. Coyotes are now common residents of many large urban areas. And while it doesn’t happen all that often, coyotes are increasingly coming into conflict with people and pets. “They’re these mid-sized carnivores, [though] most people…


Course | ESRM 471

Urban Forest Landscapes

Comprehensive view of urban forest and urban forest landscapes. Includes close examination of factors that differentiate urban forest landscapes along the urban to wildland gradient. Compare legal, social, political, administrative, physical, and biological variations.

News | August 18, 2020

Urban heatwaves are worse for low-income neighborhoods

Temperatures this summer have hit record levels across major cities, such as New York, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, London, Athens, Baghdad, and Qatar. Yesterday, an excessive heat warning was issued for South Central and Southwest Arizona and Southeast California. Climate change is leading to increased severity and frequency of heat waves, sea-level rise, and flooding due to heavy rainfall. These events tend to hurt some groups…


Course | SEFS 549

Urban Horticulture Seminar

Discussion by invited speakers on current topics in urban horticulture

Course | ESRM 451

Urban Plant Protection

Working knowledge on insects and diseases of plants growing in the urban environment. Emphasis placed on pest and damage recognition, control methods, and integrated pest management systems.

News | April 3, 2024

Urban@UW announces second cycle of Research to Action Collaboratory projects

Urban@UW is excited to announce the project teams selected for the second Research to Action Collaboratory (RAC) cohort. Throughout the next 18 months, Urban@UW will work with these teams to provide seed funds, dedicate time to building team cohesion and collaboration skills, and foster opportunities for peer support, shared resources, and learning. These two project…


News | November 26, 2024

Urban@UW is working toward a future where cities are hubs of innovation, inclusivity, & sustainability.

Research-to-Action Teams 2023-2024 In April of 2023 the teams selected for the inaugural cohort of the Research to Action Collaboratory (RAC) were announced. These groups combine the research capabilities of University of Washington scholars with frontline leaders embedded in their communities and government officials who can codify change.  The Research-to-Action Collaboratory provides the teams with…


News | September 5, 2024

Urban@UW Presenting at New York Climate Week

Urban@UW Director Rachel Berney and Program Manager Kate Landis will present on the Research-to Action Collaboratory later this month at New York Climate Week, as part of the New York Climate Exchange.  “We are thrilled to be one of the very few university centers invited to participate in New York Climate Week. This well- publicized…


News | October 2, 2024

Urban@UW Presents at Climate Week NYC

Last week Urban@UW’s Director Rachel Berney and Program Manager Kate Landis presented on the Research to Action Collaboratory at Climate Week NYC, as a guest of the New York Climate Exchange. Leaders from all sectors met on Governors Island, just south of Manhattan, to discuss climate adaptations, potential partnerships, and new technology in carbon reduction….


News | August 18, 2020

Urban@UW Research Spark Grants awardees announced

Urban@UW is excited to announce the awardees for our Research Spark Grants program. The two proposals selected address urgent urban challenges in our region, with a strong focus on community engagement and vulnerable populations.   Co-creating an Adaptive Community-Science Network: Supporting Tribal and Grassroots Action through the Puget Creek Watershed Assessment Urban communities in the…


News | November 26, 2024

Urban@UW unites research, community insight, and policy to drive innovation for resilient and equitable cities.

Inclusive Data-Driven Innovation for the Future of Cities Urban@UW extends the understanding of cities—from people, buildings, infrastructure, and energy to economics, policy, culture, art, and nature—beyond individual topics to dynamically interdependent systems, so that we can holistically design and steward vibrant and welcoming cities in which future generations will thrive. In partnership with the College…


News | November 1, 2024

Urban@UW’s Research to Action Teams Gather for a Fall Workshop

What do Microforests, the historic University of Tacoma campus, refugee resettlement, greenwater recycling, everything bagels and tasty Thai food have in common? They all played a part in October’s Research to Action teams retreat, led by Urban@UW.  Urban@UW brings together multidisciplinary academics and embedded community leaders to solve complex urban challenges through the Research to…


News | November 26, 2024

Urban@UW’s Research to Action Collaboratory provides funding, facilitation, & tools to empower cross-disciplinary teams to solve urban problems

About the RAC The Research to Action Collaboratory serves as a catalyst for research teams, building their transformational collaborative capacity to address today’s most pressing urban challenges. The RAC combines financial support, thought partnership, and skill-building to increase the capacity of scholars, community stakeholders, and the UW for impactful, collaborative research. Today’s most pressing problems—from…


Course | ENVIR 221

US Environmental History: Ecology, Culture, Justice

Covers the intertwined history of the environment and American society, focusing on issues of inequality and justice. Topics include colonialism, capitalist expansion, chemical and nuclear industrialism, the environmental inequalities of cities and suburbs, environmental movements, and environmental justice.

News | April 20, 2017

USGS, partners launch a unified, West Coast-wide earthquake early warning system

The U.S. Geological Survey and university, public and private partners held an event April 10 at the University of Washington to introduce the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning program as a unified, West Coast-wide system. The event also introduced the first pilot uses of the earthquake early warning in Washington and Oregon. The first Pacific Northwest…


News | August 16, 2017

UW gets federal money to boost early-warning system for West Coast earthquakes

The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded $4.9 million to six universities and a nonprofit to help advance an early-warning system for earthquakes along the West Coast. The federal agency says the ShakeAlert system could give people seconds or up to a minute of warning before strong shaking begins. The University of Washington, Central Washington University…


News | September 1, 2020

UW researchers explore how urbanization changes Earth’s ecosystems in new paper

UW researchers Marina Alberti, Urban Design & Planning; Simone Des Roches, Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences; and Christopher Schell, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at UW Tacoma have published a new report titled “The Complexity of Urban Eco-evolutionary Dynamics”, examining how urbanization affects ecological and evolutionary processes over time, and how these changes affect nature’s contribution to people….


News | April 8, 2019

UW study on methane emissions offers clues to Cascadia Subduction Zone

A University of Washington study that mapped methane gas emissions off the Washington coast provides new clues as to how the Cascadia Subduction Zone works. The study, which was published last month in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, documented 1,778 methane bubble plumes grouped in 491 clusters off the Washington coast. The presence of…


News | August 24, 2021

UW Tri-Campus Forest Bathing Map

Check out this project from the UW Sustainability Action Plan Engagement Committee that points out places across the University of Washington campuses to forest bathe. The tri-campus Forest Bathing map represents the collective action of the UW Sustainability Action Plan Engagement Committee (Lauren Updyke, Lauren Brohawn, Toren Elste, Ellen Moore, Cheryl Wheeler, and Daimon Eklund)….


News | April 10, 2019

UW wins top team, individual prizes in national forecasting contest, now enters tournament round

The University of Washington has won a national competition in which colleges vie to deliver the most accurate daily forecast for cities across the country. A UW student also developed a machine-learning model that for the first time delivered a more accurate forecast than any human competitor. In results announced this week, the UW team…


News | January 5, 2017

UW-led study shows new global evidence of the role of humans, urbanization in rapid evolution

It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an important — and surprisingly current and ongoing — effect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems. A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic…


News | March 15, 2024

UW’s College of Built Environments Professor Faces an Electrifying Challenge

Reported by Jen Moss for the University of Washington’ College of Built Environments King County Metro (Metro), which serves a daily average of over 250,000 riders across more than 203 square miles of the county, has an emissions challenge. Their zero-carbon emissions target, set by the King County Council, must be met by 2035. This…


News | May 11, 2022

UW’s Native Garden fostering community, sustainability among students

The UW Native Garden is a place for indigenous students to share their culture and community to learn about combining tradition with modern techniques. A garden in the corner of the UW Farm at the Center for Urban Horticulture is offering a space for growth and learning, with volunteers invited to be part of the…


News | August 25, 2022

WA ecosystems are changing. Conservation efforts are, too

Ecologists like Joe Rocchio, who manages Washington’s Natural Heritage Program, are racing to keep biodiversity from disappearing. The program develops the rare plant and ecosystem databases and conservation priorities that feed directly into Natural Areas designations, among other state and federal natural resource policies and decisions. Without adjusting how Washington sets conservation priorities, Rocchio says…


News | February 24, 2020

Washington State Agency Climate Change Plan Includes Land Use Changes

Saying her agency was “on the front lines of climate change,” Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz this week outlined the Department of Natural Resources’ plan to mitigate climate change and prepare for a warmer future. The department published its “Plan for Climate Resilience” this week in a 96-page document long on ambition but short on…


News | November 28, 2017

What if a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Seattle?

In preparation for the BIG ONE — the mighty 9.0-magnitude earthquake that’s expected to lay waste to the Pacific Northwest — geophysicists have created 50 virtual simulations to see how such a quake could rattle the region. The simulations don’t paint a pretty picture for Seattle or the coastal areas of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia…


News | December 7, 2018

What if Alaska’s earthquake happened here?

Last Friday, a 7.0 earthquake rattled Anchorage, Alaska. Amazingly, no one died — and revamped building codes enacted in the wake of the state’s deadly 1964 Good Friday quake meant the city was more prepared than most. Outside of a few structure fires, damage was kept to a minimum. But striking images of tectonic apocalypse…


News | May 10, 2021

Why a backyard that’s ‘for the birds’ is great for kids, too

Here’s something worth tweeting about: Being around more birds can boost your family’s happiness. A recent German study of more than 26,000 Europeans found that the cheeriest folks lived near natural areas with a wider diversity of bird species. And no need to know the difference between wood thrush and white-throated sparrow whistles—turns out simply seeing and hearing a variety of…


News | June 25, 2024

Why social media rarely leads to constructive political action

Written by Stefan Milne for UW News. While social media platforms are rife with problems — from harassment to misinformation — many argue that the platforms also nurture political movements, such as the Arab Spring and #MeToo. But in her new book “Log Off: Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix,” Katherine Cross, a University…


News | June 21, 2024

Why the First Heat Wave of the Summer Can Be the Most Dangerous

Written by Scott Dance for the Washington Post. In an average June, just a few days reach 90 degrees in Detroit. But by the time the year’s first blast of summer breaks in the Motor City this weekend, nearly a week of intense heat will have passed. And some of the most dangerous heat waves…


News | August 2, 2024

Wildfire Smoke Exposure Linked With Higher Dementia Risk

Reported by Dennis Thompson for HealthDay THURSDAY, Aug. 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The wildfires thats are increasing with climate change could harm the future brain health of humanity, a new study suggests. Wildfire smoke appears to increase people’s risk of a dementia diagnosis even more than other types of air pollution, researchers reported this…


News | December 31, 2021

Wildfire smoke may ramp up toxic ozone production in cities

Wildfire smoke and urban air pollution bring out the worst in each other. As wildfires rage, they transform their burned fuel into a complex chemical cocktail of smoke. Many of these airborne compounds, including ozone, cause air quality to plummet as wind carries the smoldering haze over cities. But exactly how — and to what…


Course | ESRM 420

Wildland Fire Management

Principles of wildland fire behavior, ecology, and management. Weather, fuels, and topography effects on fire behavior. Forest structure influence on historical and current fire ecology. Principles of firesafe forests. Management issues of fire control and use in wilderness, multiple-use forest, and the wildland-urban interface.

News | November 25, 2019

With mic and spade, this researcher-turned-podcaster is helping restore Seattle’s Indigenous landscape

When Jessica Hernandez arrived in Seattle five years ago to begin her master’s degree program at the University of Washington, everything suddenly felt out of place. She was born to Indigenous parents who had immigrated from Central American and Oaxaca, Mexico, and grew up in Los Angeles, going to schools that taught classes in Spanish…


News | June 18, 2019

World’s population could swell to 10.9 billion by 2100, U.N. report finds

The world’s population could swell to 10.9 billion by the end of the century, a new United Nations analysis found, raising concerns that adding more than 3 billion people to the planet could further deplete natural resources and accelerate global warming. The increase, up from the current count of 7.7 billion people, is expected despite a continued…


News | March 31, 2020

WWII-era ‘victory gardens’ make a comeback amid coronavirus

For Washington’s hobby gardeners, late winter and early spring are often times to dream of summer blooms and yards. But with a pandemic poised to kill more Americans than have died in world wars, some are repurposing their personal plots into a new generation of victory gardens — symbols of self-reliance, food production and community resilience not seen since wartime. While…


Scholar

Zackery Thill

Visit scholar website