ENACTS
Rapid urbanization creates more impervious surfaces, leading to increased stormwater runoff, water and air pollution, urban heat islands, and environmental gentrification. Nature-based Solutions (NbS), such as tree programs, public parks, community gardens, and green infrastructure systems, are powerful yet underutilized tools for enhancing community resilience to the impacts of rapid urbanization and ongoing environmental challenges.
Community gardens are also effective NbS (image: Midjourney)
ENACTS aims to understand and measure the impact of NbS on community well-being. The project will develop design principles and best practices that promote environmental sustainability, resilience, and practicality.
Led by the University of New Hampshire, ENACTS will form partnerships between researchers in Rhode Island, Kentucky, and New Hampshire, and residents in Providence, RI, Louisville, KY, and Manchester, NH. Together, they will design and implement practical, community-driven NbS in these areas.
ENACTS will build capacity through a new research infrastructure that focuses on community resilience in NbS. Supported by local knowledge and integrating social and natural sciences, engineering, art, and design, ENACTS research will inform better NbS decisions for maximum efficacy. The project seeks to shift national and international paradigms for designing and implementing NbS. ENACTS will enhance decision-making about NbS in these three states and, in doing so, address the urgent global need for improved decision tools for community resilience and prosperity.
ENACTS Leadership
Weiwei Mo
Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of New Hampshire. Bio
Angela Storey
Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Anthropology; University of Louisville. Bio
Johanna Barthmaeier-Payne
Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture; Rhode Island School of Design. Bio
Soni Pradhanang
Principal Investigator; Professor of Geosciences; University of Rhode Island. Bio
Abigail Abrash Walton
Co-Principal Investigator; Chair of Environmental Studies; Antioch University New England. Bio
Semra Aytur
Co-Principal Investigator; Professor of Health, Management and Policy; University of New Hampshire. Bio
Stephanie Brockmann
Assistant Professor of Economics; Baker University. Bio
Madison Jones
Co-Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric/Natural Resources Science; University of Rhode Island. Bio
Andrea Gaughan
Co-Principal Investigator; Professor of Geography & Geosciences; University of Louisville. Bio
Fei Han
Co-Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; University of New Hampshire. Bio
Jason Parent
Co-Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Natural Resources Science; University of Rhode Island. Bio
Forrest Stevens
Co-Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Geography and Geosciences; University of Louisville. Bio
Kalpana Venkatasubramanian
Co-Principal Investigator; Assistant Professor of Geographic & Environmental Sciences; University of Louisville. Bio
ENACTS is supported by NSF EPSCoR awards #2418376, #2418377, #2418378 & #2418379