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Resilient, Equitable Urban Streams

Jeanne Rosenmeier

So far in our creeks series, we have been looking at attempts to restore them to as close to natural as possible. But what if we look at urban creeks in a different way, as their own ecosystems, including the unhoused people who live along them? How will climate change affect these systems? In this episode, we go out in the field and talk to Dr. Costanza Rampini of San Jose State and Dr. Gregory Pasternack of UC Davis, researchers who are investigating exactly this issue about Bay Area creeks, in a project called Resilient, Equitable Urban Stream Corridors.




First Friday Cleanup, sponsored by the Solano Resource Conservation District.




Oh the TRASH!




Hydro geomorphologists measuring the creek





Here's the "Lay Abstract" of the project proposal; good luck understanding it! (I sure didn't.)


Resilient and Equitable Urban Stream Corridors


Lay Abstract


Natural hazards, socio-economic wellbeing, and ecological functions all intertwine in California’s urban stream corridors, because these pathways are heavily relied on for flood and pollution control, recreation, ecosystem services, education, and residency. As we write, tens of thousands of unhoused people, previously pushed into living and forage along streams, are evacuating streams and losing belongings due to flash flooding. Meanwhile, landslides are destroying homes along the hills above. Yet 5 months

earlier, the concern was drought, fire, and overheating. California’s climate has always been defined by variability. Climate change synergized with urbanization is amplifying extremes in ways that our urban stream communities and ecosystems are not resilient against. Regional climate models already provide reasonable forecasts that illuminate broader impacts requiring adaptation, but these must be combined with a better understanding of local effects. Local urban managers tend to address crises with small,

specific projects absent the context of a whole urban region, with its complex intertwining of multiple types of natural hazards, civil infrastructure, and socio-economic vulnerabilities. To provide climate action in this context, we formed a multi-institutional, transdisciplinary partnership that will carry out integrated applied research and practical action looking at urban stream corridors as a system seeking climate resilience. We will discover landscape patterns that amplify risks and identify locations where nature-based solutions can be most effective, by using a combination of (1) targeted interdisciplinary data collection in local communities and their streams, (2) model-predicted future climate condition maps, (3) remote sensing, and (4) Big Data spatial analysis. Resulting risk and opportunity maps and

recommendations will be used by our local nonprofit and conservation district partners to aid decision-making about where to deploy their resources and expertise for community engagement, master planning, community education, and siting shovel-ready projects. We will also use this project, with its training opportunities for diverse students, targeted workshops, and dedicated outreach to strengthen ties across academic, industry, nonprofit, and government sectors leading to subsequent actions that

leverage this seed grant.

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