Project: The role of green infrastructure incentive programs in (in)equitably meeting urban stormwater challenges Research Project Description: Stormwater is a pressing environmental challenge for cities. Every time it rains, impervious surfaces (e.g., roads and rooftops) prevent runoff from infiltrating into the ground. Instead, stormwater runoff floods streets and overwhelms treatment systems, causing hazards for urban communities and often contributing significantly to pollution in nearby waterways. Research has shown that green infrastructure can help mitigate the impacts of stormwater runoff, particularly runoff from extreme events in underserved neighborhoods. Therefore, several cities as well as the federal government have developed a range of incentive programs (from grants to rebates) to encourage communities to build green infrastructure facilities in their neighborhoods. But it is unknown which communities are benefiting from incentive funding and what kind of events (extreme or routine) they are addressing. Building off of previous work (Shandas et al. in review; Chang et al. in review, McPhillips and Matsler 2018; Matsler 2017; Finewood 2016; Finewood and Holifield 2015; Finewood, Matsler, and Zivkovich 2019; Everett et al. 2015), we ask: how, and what kind of, green infrastructure is incentivized through small grants program? This study examines 1) who has the capacity to access green infrastructure incentive programs and 2) the effectiveness of these programs in establishing green infrastructure facilities that address the problems faced by marginalized residents.
Expected Duration/Hours: 10 weeks, minimum 15 hours per week. Intern Responsibilities: 1) conducting online research of municipal green infrastructure incentive programs including analysis/coding of these program documents in coordination with other students on the research team 2) formulating interview questions and conducting phone interviews of municipal staff in collaboration with PIs 3) attending weekly project group meetings 4) writing up methods, results, and literature reviews for presentations, posters, and publications 5) documenting ongoing work through memos and metadata 6) optional opportunity to present research findings with project team at upcoming conferences 7) optional opportunity to become an author on an academic publication Intern Qualifications: 1) professionalism and empathy when working with a team and members of the public 2) experience with or interest in learning social science document analysis methods (using the online program Dedoose) and interviewing methods 3) CITI certification or willingness to obtain CITI certification (through a 4 hour online course) 4) strong writing skills 5) experience with or interest in learning literature review and annotated bibliography skills 6) experience with Excel and Powerpoint
Application:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
Please email your application to Dr. Marissa Matsler at matslerm@umd.edu by April 28th.
Dr. Matsler works for UMD from the west coast. Therefore, interns will need to be available to attend meetings during the PDT time zone work day.