@article{gibson_stevenson_busch_cutts_seekamp_krementz_2024, title={Pushing toward systemic change in the Capitalocene: Investigating the efficacy of existing behavior prediction models on individual and collective pro-environmental actions in high school students}, volume={55}, ISSN={["1940-1892"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2259853}, DOI={10.1080/00958964.2023.2259853}, abstractNote={Environmental education often advocates for individual pro-environmental behavior—which, while beneficial to a degree, fails to match the large scale of today's capitalism-fueled socio-ecological challenges. Rather, collective action holds promise as a means for the large-scale changes required in the Capitalocene. These actions can take the shape of encouraging group uptake of behaviors (collective non-activist behaviors) or through fostering system change (collective activist behaviors). This study works to understand how well the environmental literacy framework combined with the theory of planned behavior predicts collective environmental behaviors, using North Carolina high school students as a study population. We find that, while these models effectively predict student engagement in individual environmental behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.39), they are less accurate at predicting engagement in collective non-activist behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.17) and collective activist behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.10). Thus, more research and theory-building are needed to understand what drives collective behavior among youth and beyond.}, number={2}, journal={JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION}, author={Gibson, Lauren and Stevenson, Kathryn and Busch, K. C. and Cutts, Bethany and Seekamp, Erin and Krementz, Sarah}, year={2024}, month={Mar}, pages={102–124} }
 @article{cutts_vila_bray_harris_hornsby_goins_mclean_crites_allen_mcmenamin_et al._2024, title={Shifting terrains: Understanding residential contaminants after flood disasters}, volume={907}, ISSN={["1879-1026"]}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167577}, DOI={10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167577}, abstractNote={Flood disasters can induce the mass transport of soils and sediments. This has the potential to distribute contaminants and present novel combinations to new locations - including residential neighborhoods. Even when soil contaminants cannot be directly attributed to the disaster, data on bacterial and heavy metal(loids) can facilitate an environmentally just recovery by enabling reconstruction decisions that fill data gaps to minimize future exposure. These data-gathering interventions may be especially useful in poor, rural, and racially diverse communities where there is a high probability of exposure to multiple hazards and a potential dependency on the financial resources of disaster aid as a means of reducing chronic exposures to other environmental pollutants. At the same time, entering these post-disasters spaces is ethically complex. To acknowledge this complexity, we pilot a framework for work that gathers social-ecological hazard information while retaining a fair-minded approach to transdisciplinary work. Assembled a transdisciplinary team to recruit participants from 90 households subjected to flooding in the southeastern US. Participating households agreed to interviews to elicit flood experience and environmental health concerns, soil sampling for fecal bacteria (E. coli) and soil sampling for selected heavy metals and metalloids (Pb, As, Cd) at their flooded residence. Soil sampling found a wide range of E. coli concentrations in soil (0.4-1115.7 CFU/ dry gram). Heavy metal(loid)s were detected at most residences (As 97.9 %; Ca 25.5 %; Pb 100 %). Individually, heavy metal(loid) concentrations did not exceed regulatory thresholds. Hazard, risk, and mitigation concerns expressed during interviews reveal that integrated human-nature concepts complicate common understandings of how hazard perceptibility (smell, sight, touch, and information) affects research-action spaces. Qualitative analysis of interviews and field notes revealed that soil-related hazards addressed by our biophysical protocols were less salient than changes with direct causal associations with flooding. We conclude by discussing the potential for the social-ecological hazard information that is fair-minded and transdisciplinary (SHIFT) framework to advance environmentally just approaches to research-action spaces after disasters.}, journal={SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Vila, Olivia and Bray, Laura A. and Harris, Angela and Hornsby, Gracie and Goins, Hannah and McLean, Sallie and Crites, Margaret and Allen, Angela and McMenamin, Nathan and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Jan} }
 @misc{myers_mullenbach_jolley_cutts_larson_2023, title={Advancing social equity in urban tree planting: Lessons learned from an integrative review of the literature}, volume={89}, ISSN={["1610-8167"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128116}, abstractNote={Social equity has become a growing emphasis in urban tree planting programs, with multiple cities across the world aiming to reduce racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities in tree canopy distribution. However, despite escalating concerns about equity in urban greening, there is a dearth of research that applies the principles of environmental justice – including both recognition and procedural justice - to tree planting, specifically. This integrative review identified and analyzed academic papers focused on social and environmental justice related to urban tree planting programs in the United States. We searched academic databases using keywords such as “social equity AND tree planting” to identify peer-reviewed papers on the subject. After several filtering steps, 15 papers published between 2004 and 2021 were analyzed to understand outcomes from strategies that cities have employed in pursuit of equitable tree planting and the factors that influenced their success. We characterized outcomes, documented challenges faced, and identified best practices for equitable urban greening. Critical lessons learned include the value of prioritizing distributional equity over the number of trees planted, the need to form community partnerships and engage communities in the tree planting programs, and the importance of providing funding and resources for ongoing tree maintenance after initial planting. More research is needed to build on the limited studies to date with the goal of effectively integrating multiple environmental justice dimensions (i.e., distributive, procedural, recognition) into urban tree planting programs.}, journal={URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING}, author={Myers, Genevieve and Mullenbach, Lauren E. and Jolley, Julianna A. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Larson, Lincoln R.}, year={2023}, month={Nov} }
 @article{beckham_cutts_rivers iii_dello_bray_villa_2023, title={BRIDGE Builders - Leadership and social capital in disaster recovery governance}, volume={96}, ISSN={["2212-4209"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103942}, abstractNote={Rural disaster recovery governance focuses on the actions that governments take to address the immediate economic, environmental, and infrastructure needs of communities, but does not consider the structural limitations of rural communities, or the transformational power of community leadership. Applying knowledge of community leadership, governance, and social capital in a rural community where social relationships and local-level leadership are central to external interactions provides space to understand the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of disaster recovery governance and leadership systems. To do this, we conduct a secondary thematic analysis of 30 interviews of 32 disaster recovery leaders in Robeson County, NC (USA) following the compound disasters of hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). Participants describe a recovery landscape that relies on Community Organizers - non-titular rural community members who emerge in response to communities' immediate recovery and resource needs. Social capital acts as a resource for Community Organizers as they work to fill the relational and recognition barriers presented by isolation from overextended rural governments. Community Organizers utilize linking and bridging social capital between Decision-Makers and communities to influence transformational change that engenders trans-scaler social capital to create successful recovery outcomes that adequately represent the needs, values, and norms of rural communities. Community-level leaders can serve as a bridge between communities and Decision-Makers, generating effective outcomes that foster collaboration and reciprocity for the next storm.}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION}, author={Beckham, Tira L. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Rivers III, Louie Rivers and Dello, Kathie and Bray, Laura A. and Villa, Olivia}, year={2023}, month={Oct} }
 @article{vila_cutts_knollenberg_rivers_2023, title={Environmental justice in disaster recovery: Recognition of the Latinx community by nonprofit leaders}, volume={40}, ISSN={["2212-0963"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.crm.2023.100502}, abstractNote={Nonprofit organizations are important sources of aid and assistance in the aftermath of disasters, directly contributing to disaster recovery efforts in communities and in some cases broader environmental justice objectives. However, there is a need to better align nonprofit organization processes and programs to address the needs of disadvantaged communities. This study examines how leaders of nonprofit organizations navigate and address the needs and experiences of Latinx persons in their community. We draw from 18 semi-structured interviews with leaders of nonprofit organizations involved in disaster recovery in Wilmington, North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018. Interviews focused on the degree that nonprofit leaders involved in disaster recovery recognize the Latinx community, how the process of recognition manifests among these leaders, and how recognition by these leaders is related to procedural and distributional justice. Findings suggest that leaders adopt more sophisticated recognition of disaster recovery needs of the Latinx community when they have direct experience working with Latinx persons, collaborate with individuals who understand the Latinx community, partner with other organizations, or leverage geospatial or other data on disaster impacts and demographics. Data generated in this study underscores the role that recognition can play in promoting progress towards procedural and distributional justice in the disaster recovery context. These findings suggest that assigned leaders of nonprofits can and do function to exacerbate inequities through their disaster recovery services. However, the findings also showcase nonprofit leaders are interested in promoting just outcomes, and one possible route is through greater emphasis on the role of recognition. This work can inform approaches to resilience planning and help leaders of nonprofit organizations understand the needs and experiences of disadvantaged communities, so they can restructure organization policies and programs to address the needs of those who are most vulnerable to environmental hazards.}, journal={CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT}, author={Vila, Olivia and Cutts, Bethany and Knollenberg, Whitney and Rivers, Louie}, year={2023} }
 @article{reilly_stevenson_cutts_brune_knollenberg_barbieri_2023, title={Family matters: intergenerational influences on children's agricultural literacy}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1940-1892"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2257884}, DOI={10.1080/00958964.2023.2257884}, abstractNote={AbstractAgricultural and environmental literacy are essential public goods, but associated education efforts struggle to reach broad audiences. Understanding learner backgrounds and lived experiences can help address this challenge. We assessed the relative importance of demographics, parent views of agriculture, interactions with farmers and parents, and learning setting in predicting agricultural literacy among 525 elementary school children in North Carolina, USA. We used classification and regression trees and random forest models, which account for non-linear and interacting relationships. Knowing a farmer and engagement with parents were more predictive of children agricultural literacy than demographics, countering historically held deficit-based assumptions around agricultural and environmental literacy.Keywords: agricultural literacyenvironmental literacyclassification and regression tree analysisculturally responsive programming AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank the participating families who took time out of their farm visits or busy days to share their thoughts and feelings on local foods. We also thank the teachers who partnered with us on this project, particularly those who continued as COVID-19 posed a myriad of challenges.Disclosure statementNo potential competing interest was reported by the author(s).}, journal={JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION}, author={Reilly, Caitlin and Stevenson, Kathryn T. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Brune, Sara and Knollenberg, Whitney and Barbieri, Carla}, year={2023}, month={Sep} }
 @article{thompson_bunds_larson_cutts_hipp_2023, title={Paying for nature‐based solutions: A review of funding and financing mechanisms for ecosystem services and their impacts on social equity}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2510}, DOI={10.1002/sd.2510}, abstractNote={Abstract}, journal={Sustainable Development}, author={Thompson, Austin and Bunds, Kyle and Larson, Lincoln and Cutts, Bethany and Hipp, J. Aaron}, year={2023}, month={Aug} }
 @article{mullenbach_breyer_cutts_rivers_larson_2022, title={An antiracist, anticolonial agenda for urban greening and conservation}, volume={15}, ISSN={1755-263X 1755-263X}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/conl.12889}, DOI={10.1111/conl.12889}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={4}, journal={Conservation Letters}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Mullenbach, Lauren E. and Breyer, Betsy and Cutts, Bethany B. and Rivers, Louie, III and Larson, Lincoln R.}, year={2022}, month={Jun} }
 @article{cutts_greenlee_chantrill_2022, title={Coupling ecosystem-centered governance modes with environmental justice}, volume={4}, ISSN={["2624-9634"]}, DOI={10.3389/frsc.2022.826326}, abstractNote={In North America, Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) were established to remediate aquatic pollution in 1987 as part of a binational agreement between the United State of America and Canada. Although the action preceded formal environmental injustice acknowledgment, the AOC program's effort to remediate legacy pollutants includes language with the potential to accomplish core goals of EJ: democratizing decision-making and reducing disproportionate environmental burden. Yet, in AOCs, discussions of public engagement regarding AOC work tend to define participation institutionally (i.e., the state, market, and civil society) rather than by racial or socioeconomic inclusivity. Understanding how AOC governance processes consider representation of, and benefit to communities negotiating remediation decisions from positions of systemic disadvantage requires addressing the relationship between ecosystem-centered governance modes and environmental justice. In this study, interviews with governance actors reveal that concern for EJ issues wield different forms of authority as ecosystem-centered governance and environmental justice couple, decouple, and uncouple. Changes in coupling correspond with shifts in ecosystem-centric governance mode, but coupling does not rely on any one particular governance arrangement. Instead, coupling relies on leadership practices and conceptions of fairness that are EJ-responsive and present EJ as indistinct from ecosystem goals and targets. Our findings reinforce the assertion that ecosystem-centered governance can be reimagined to better facilitate EJ even without changes in financial and regulatory constraints. We conclude by proposing empirical measures that advance EGM-EJ qualitative scholarship and practical advice about how to cultivate EJ-responsive leadership in ecosystem-centered governance arrangements.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE CITIES}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Greenlee, Andrew J. and Chantrill, Carolina V.}, year={2022}, month={Oct} }
 @article{vila_smith_cutts_gyawali_bhattarai_2022, title={Equity in FEMA hazard mitigation assistance programs: The role of state hazard mitigation officers}, volume={136}, ISSN={["1873-6416"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.envsci.2022.07.027}, abstractNote={FEMA provides hundreds of millions of dollars for hazard mitigation projects annually through their Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. HMA funding is most accessible to resource-rich communities leaving historically underserved communities that are often more vulnerable to disasters less able to obtain federal mitigation funding. This research highlights the results of a national survey conducted with 43 State Hazard Mitigation Officers (SHMOs), assigned state-level leaders who can have great influence on mitigation equity within their state. The survey explored the role of states and territories in facilitating mitigation equity in FEMA HMA programs using a three-pillar environmental justice framework (recognition, procedural justice, and distributional justice). The results indicate state-level shortcomings, including limited understanding of underserved communities, poor procedures for identifying and engaging with underserved communities, and limited local engagement in state- or territory-sponsored conferences, trainings, meetings, and policy discussions. The results yield insight into some of the underlying processes through which inequities in federal support for mitigation emerge and provide guidance to address shortcomings. These findings have important implications for federal- and state-level policy aiming to promote equity in hazard mitigation. Specifically, they point to the need for assessments of the needs, values, and priorities of low-capacity communities, identification and outreach strategies tailored to those communities, and increased financial and technical assistance for equity-focused actions. This study underscores the value of environmental justice research in decision-making associated with multi- billion- dollar federal grant programs. • SHMO’s recognition of low-capacity communities is relatively limited. • Engagement processes are not tailored to the qualities of those communities. • Assistance for recognition-based activities is necessary for equitable outcomes.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY}, author={Vila, Olivia and Smith, Gavin and Cutts, Bethany and Gyawali, Samata and Bhattarai, Samiksha}, year={2022}, month={Oct}, pages={632–641} }
 @article{bergeson_martin_doll_cutts_2022, title={Soil infiltration rates are underestimated by models in an urban watershed in central North Carolina, USA}, volume={313}, ISSN={["1095-8630"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115004}, DOI={10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115004}, abstractNote={Stormwater management problems are expanding as urbanization continues and precipitation patterns are increasingly extreme. Urban soils are often more disturbed and compacted than non-urban soils, therefore, rainfall run-off estimates based on models designed for non-urban soils may not be accurate due to altered soil infiltration rates. Our objective was to quantify soil infiltration rates across an urban watershed and compare them to estimates from rainfall-runoff models commonly used in stormwater management (Horton and Green-Ampt) as well as an alternate, random-forest model created using available geospatial data. We measured infiltration rates and collected data on soil properties (texture, bulk density) and context (land use, ground cover, time since development) at 89 points across the 102 ha Walnut Creek watershed in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA). Forest land covers and forest ground covers (leaf litter) had the highest infiltration capacities; however, all of our measurements indicate that urban soils in the Walnut Creek watershed are able to absorb most precipitation events and are likely capable of infiltrating additional urban stormwater runoff. Comparisons between observations and the rainfall-runoff model estimates reveal that both underestimated urban soil infiltration rates. Despite higher than expected urban soil infiltration capacity, stormwater management remains a challenge in this urban watershed. Therefore, to reduce stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces through soil infiltration, impervious surfaces should be disconnected, especially adjacent to new development, and urban forests should be conserved. Further, because our random forest model more accurately captured watershed infiltration rates than the rainfall-runoff models, we propose this type of machine learning approach as an alternative method for informing stormwater management and prioritizing areas for impervious disconnection.}, journal={JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Bergeson, Chase B. and Martin, Katherine L. and Doll, Barbara and Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2022}, month={Jul} }
 @article{gibson_busch_stevenson_cutts_demattia_aguilar_ardoin_carrier_clark_cooper_et al._2022, title={What is community-level environmental literacy, and how can we measure it? A report of a convening to conceptualize and operationalize CLEL}, volume={5}, ISSN={["1469-5871"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2067325}, DOI={10.1080/13504622.2022.2067325}, abstractNote={Abstract Environmental education research often emphasizes the importance of community context, but conceptualization and measurement of environmental literacy has mostly occurred at the individual level, often focusing on individual behaviors. The environmental problems facing the world today require collective action—communities coming together to address large-scale problems. Accordingly, understanding and encouraging collective action requires a shift in focus from individual to community-level environmental literacy (CLEL). Despite its importance, CLEL has been left largely undefined and unmentioned in environmental education literature. To understand the field’s current conceptualizations and measurement strategies around CLEL, the authors held a convening of 24 researchers to discuss the topic. Here, we report the findings of this convening and present a series of tensions that emerged in conceptualizing and measuring CLEL. We see this area of research as rich with opportunity for innovation and offer considerations for researchers engaging in this work.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RESEARCH}, publisher={Informa UK Limited}, author={Gibson, Lauren M. and Busch, K. C. and Stevenson, Kathryn T. and Cutts, Bethany B. and DeMattia, Elizabeth A. and Aguilar, Olivia M. and Ardoin, Nicole M. and Carrier, Sarah J. and Clark, Charlotte R. and Cooper, Caren B. and et al.}, year={2022}, month={Apr} }
 @article{london_cutts_schwarz_schmidt_cadenasso_2021, title={Unearthing the entangled roots of urban agriculture}, volume={38}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10158-x}, DOI={10.1007/s10460-020-10158-x}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={Agriculture and Human Values}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={London, Jonathan K. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Schwarz, Kirsten and Schmidt, Li and Cadenasso, Mary L.}, year={2021}, month={Feb}, pages={205–220} }
 @article{emanuel_rivers_cutts_blank_2020, title={Data Analytics for Environmental Justice and Indigenous Rights: Early Warning Systems or Blind Spots?}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/essoar.10501690.1}, DOI={10.1002/essoar.10501690.1}, abstractNote={In the United States, federal policies exist to ensure environmental justice and to protect Indigenous rights. However, the effectiveness of these policies can be influenced by analytical tools cho...}, author={Emanuel, Ryan and Rivers, Louie and Cutts, Bethany and Blank, Gary}, year={2020}, month={Jan} }
 @article{jurjonas_seekamp_rivers_cutts_2020, title={Uncovering climate (in) justice with an adaptive capacity assessment: A multiple case study in rural coastal North Carolina}, volume={94}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104547}, DOI={10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104547}, abstractNote={Climate change resilience is an area of praxis where efforts to enhance community adaptive capacity are informed by theory. However, there is growing evidence that ethnocentrism and privilege are shaping coastal management policies while many communities with climate justice issues struggle to build resilience. Particularly, rural coastal communities, contrasting urban areas, have limited access to centralized planning efforts, unique local contexts for outreach, compounding social vulnerabilities (job loss, out-migration, limited social services), and receive less attention from resilience researchers. Following calls to integrate climate justice into resilience praxis, we assess perceptions of adaptive capacity within predominately African American communities in a rural low-lying coastal region in eastern North Carolina. We add a climate justice lens to evaluate the previously-validated Rural Coastal Community Resilience (RCCR) framework. The RCCR is intended to improve planning efforts by providing climate change information, initiating conversations, and contributing to resilience theory. In contrast to its previous applications, engagement led to declines in perceived adaptive capacity. This result highlights that the information sharing goals of the engagement efforts were poorly aligned with community concerns and threat perceptions. Additionally, perceived climate injustices emerged revealing instances of adaptation oppression. This study recommends strategies to rethink traditional extension efforts to improve inclusiveness by deeply interrogating the inherent whiteness of standard modes of communicating climate science.}, journal={Land Use Policy}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Jurjonas, M. and Seekamp, E. and Rivers, L., III and Cutts, B.}, year={2020}, month={May}, pages={104547} }
 @article{munden-dixon_tate_cutts_roche_2019, title={An uncertain future: climate resilience of first-generation ranchers}, volume={41}, ISSN={1036-9872}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj18023}, DOI={10.1071/RJ18023}, abstractNote={Policymakers and scholars agree that the aging and declining number of ranchers is a serious problem for the future of ranching and range management. Studies show that recruiting and retaining new ranchers is difficult due to a complex mix of start-up costs, knowledge and skill requirements, and regulatory barriers. While research suggests that first-generation farmers are different demographically and require individualised information, there is limited research on first-generation ranchers (FGRs); at best they are generalised as beginning farmers in research and outreach programs. This is surprising given ranchers’ unique knowledge requirements relating to the production of food and fibre, and the management of vast areas of public and private land. Based on a rangeland decision-making survey of 507 California Cattlemen’s Association members, this paper examines similarities and divergences in socioeconomic factors, management practices, drought adaptation strategies, information needs, and values between FGRs and multigenerational ranchers (MGRs). Survey results indicate FGRs and MGRs are not statistically different demographically and have similar values; however, key differences include FGRs using fewer information sources about ranching, fewer general management practices, and fewer drought adaptation practices. FGRs are also more susceptible to drought, and are underserved by organisations. Their vulnerability is particularly concerning, as many have limited drought experience, are more likely to take risks, and are less likely to find value and/or participate in ranching organisations. The future of rangelands requires that organisations interested in conserving rangelands and supporting ranchers re-evaluate assumptions about why FGRs and MGRs have different information needs beyond simplistic demographic identity, and instead focus on their affinity as FGRs in order to understand the complexity of the processes underlying these differences. We end with suggestions for a research agenda to support the climate resiliency of FGRs and increase the efficacy of support organisations.}, number={3}, journal={The Rangeland Journal}, publisher={CSIRO Publishing}, author={Munden-Dixon, Kate and Tate, Kenneth and Cutts, Bethany and Roche, Leslie}, year={2019}, pages={189} }
 @article{cutts_greenlee_hornik_nigrelli_2019, title={Hyperlocal sustainabilities: theorizing action research for sustainability in the digital age}, volume={15}, ISSN={1862-4065 1862-4057}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00694-9}, DOI={10.1007/s11625-019-00694-9}, number={1}, journal={Sustainability Science}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Greenlee, Andrew J. and Hornik, Kaitlyn and Nigrelli, Caitie A.}, year={2019}, month={Apr}, pages={315–331} }
 @article{cutts_minn_2018, title={Dead Grass: Foreclosure and the Production of Space in Maricopa County, Arizona}, volume={3}, ISSN={["2183-7635"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v3i3.1352}, DOI={10.17645/up.v3i3.1352}, abstractNote={A wide variety of economic, social, political and moral explanations have been given for why the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s occurred. Yet many of the tensions provoked by the uptick in foreclosure proceedings, their resolution during the foreclosure recovery process, and the insight they provide into the function of American space remain unexplored. This article uses Lefebvre’s <em>The Production of Space</em> as a framework to explore the spatial and ecological contradictions of suburban development in Maricopa County (Phoenix), Arizona, USA, and the ways those contradictions were drawn into relief by the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s. Analysis through this Lefebvrian lens uncovers symbolic meanings assigned to urban ecologies and their ruliness as a means of drawing legal devices such as nuisance laws and housing codes into a more-than-human frenzy. This article follows a growing tradition of scholarship that employs Lefebvrian insights to identify and explicate urban planning dilemmas.}, number={3}, journal={URBAN PLANNING}, publisher={Cogitatio}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Minn, Michael}, year={2018}, pages={16–25} }
 @article{schwarz_cadenasso_london_cutts_2018, title={Fertile Ground for Collaboration: Investing in Community-University Partnerships with Soil Money}, volume={100}, ISSN={0012-9623}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1479}, DOI={10.1002/bes2.1479}, abstractNote={The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of AmericaVolume 100, Issue 1 e01479 Communicating ScienceOpen Access Fertile Ground for Collaboration: Investing in Community–University Partnerships with Soil Money K. Schwarz, K. Schwarz Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, One Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 41099 USASearch for more papers by this authorM. L. Cadenasso, M. L. Cadenasso orcid.org/0000-0002-6521-067X Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, California, 95616 USASearch for more papers by this authorJ. K. London, J. K. London Department of Human Ecology, Center for Regional Change, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, California, 95616 USASearch for more papers by this authorB. B. Cutts, B. B. Cutts Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Dr., Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695 USASearch for more papers by this author K. Schwarz, K. Schwarz Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, One Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 41099 USASearch for more papers by this authorM. L. Cadenasso, M. L. Cadenasso orcid.org/0000-0002-6521-067X Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, California, 95616 USASearch for more papers by this authorJ. K. London, J. K. London Department of Human Ecology, Center for Regional Change, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, California, 95616 USASearch for more papers by this authorB. B. Cutts, B. B. Cutts Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, 2820 Faucette Dr., Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 08 November 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1479Citations: 3AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Any avid gardener will tell you that planting seeds is not enough to ensure an abundant harvest. While you might get lucky and hit a patch of fertile ground, you will likely have more success if you first prepare the soil. Community–university partnerships (CUPs) require the same investment. Just as soil provides the physical foundation for plant growth, relationship building between communities and researchers provides the foundation for productive and sustained CUPs. In that vein, we argue that successful CUPs not only require seed money to initiate projects, but soil money to cultivate strong, resilient, and productive partnerships. There is increasing pressure for scientists to demonstrate the societal relevance of their work (Keeler et al. 2017). Many scientists achieve this through partnership with community organizations. Yet, whether CUPs are effective, and for whom they are effective, is poorly understood, partly because partnerships are often formed under conditions that are driven by funding and academic publishing opportunities. This may ultimately shortchange the potential benefits to scientific innovation and the ability of science to contribute toward social benefit. Partnerships formed through the exploration and definition of mutual interests may yield more impactful work (London et al. 2017). Soil money directly addresses one of the challenges faced by many budding CUPs—establishing and sustaining strong and resilient CUPs before a funding opportunity arises. Universities currently support CUPs in several ways, for example, seed money that supports emerging projects. In addition, some universities maintain centers that facilitate connections between campus and the community. However, these mechanisms do not directly fund relationship building among researchers and the community. Academia's limited investment in CUPs is compounded by an increasingly competitive funding climate, with interdisciplinary funding (the focus of many CUPs) becoming more limited (Bromham et al. 2016). In addition, within the current funding system, engagement can be superficial. For example, the broader impacts requirement of a National Science Foundation proposal encourages application of research findings to management or policy; however, it rarely drives the direction of research and is sometimes viewed as an obligatory recognition of potential social benefit, rather than an opportunity to engage with communities. Soil money could foster relationships that allow the broadest impacts where community members are repositioned from “study participant” to “research partner” not only shaping what research happens, but how research happens, fostering community empowerment, co-learning, and linking our research to policy and action (Balazs and Morello-Frosch 2013). While most emphasis on interdisciplinary research has focused on improving the reach of our research across traditional disciplinary boundaries, community-engaged research also has the power to improve our science, through improved relevance (asking the right questions for our system and collaborative group) and rigor (the practice and promotion of good science; Balazs and Morello-Frosch 2013). Much of the complexity associated with CUPs comes from navigating a vast network of collaborators and partners with different disciplinary perspectives, goals, and levels of power and privilege (London et al. 2017). As such, supporting community–university relationships may involve identifying and addressing social legacies, including strained community–university relationships that have experienced uneven power dynamics, an extractive culture, and practices that have perpetuated limited access to higher education (Speed 2008, Minkler and Wallerstein 2010, Smith 2012). Activities supported by soil money could complement efforts to promote inclusion and diversity, helping to address historical barriers between communities and universities that have weakened our science by marginalizing voices. Soil money requires flexibility to allow for creative ways to initiate and sustain CUPs and must support both researchers and community members. Funds may support community scholars that provide informal instruction or seminars, develop joint projects, or write community grants. Funds could support travel to community meetings, pay rental fees for meeting space so researchers can meet stakeholders in their community, or provide funding for workshops and training in cultural humility and other needed skills to excel in community-engaged scholarship (Tervalon et al. 1998). The success of soil money can be assessed; however, CUPs require different models for assessment, in both how participants define success and value outcomes. For example, essential to evaluating outcomes is recognizing that the basis for making causal claims is fundamentally different for participatory approaches (compared to theory-based or experimental approaches) in that assessment hinges on validations by the participants themselves that change is caused by the intervention (Gates and Dyson 2017). By directly supporting relationship building, soil money provides a foundation from which relationships can evolve and be sustained. Soil money itself will not automatically create effective partnerships, but it is an essential component to overcoming the known limitations of modes of science in which communities are considered only as potential end users. Constantly harvesting from your garden without providing resources to the soil is unsustainable—likewise, we cannot continue to reap the benefits of CUPs without investing in the process of cultivation. Literature Cited Balazs, C. L., and R. Morello-Frosch. 2013. The three rs: how community-based participatory research strengthens the rigor, relevance, and reach of science. Environmental Justice 6: 9– 16. Bromham, L., R. Dinnage, and X. Hua. 2016. Interdisciplinary research has consistently lower funding success. Nature 534: 684– 687. Gates, E., and L. Dyson. 2017. Implications of the changing conversation about causality for evaluators. American Journal of Evaluation 38: 29– 46. Keeler, B. L., et al. 2017. Society is ready for a new kind of science—is academia? BioScience 67: 591– 592. London, J. K., K. Schwarz, M. L. Cadenasso, B. B. Cutts, C. Mason, J. Lim, K. Valenzuela-Garcia, and H. Smith. 2017. Weaving community-university research and action partnerships for environmental justice. Action Research 16: 173– 189. Minkler, M., and N. Wallerstein. 2010. Community-based participatory research for health: from process to outcomes. Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. Smith, L. T. 2012. Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples. Zed Books, London, UK. Speed, S. 2008. Forged in dialogue: towards a critically engaged activist research. Pages 213– 236 in C. R. Hale, editor. Engaging contradictions. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA. Tervalon, M., J. Murray-García, and I. Harkavy. 1998. Cultural humility versus cultural competence: a critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 9: 117– 125. Citing Literature Volume100, Issue1January 2019e01479 This article also appears in:Communicating Science ReferencesRelatedInformation}, number={1}, journal={The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Schwarz, K. and Cadenasso, M. L. and London, J. K. and Cutts, B. B.}, year={2018}, month={Nov}, pages={e01479} }
 @article{cutts_greenlee_prochaska_chantrill_contractor_wilhoit_abts_hornik_2018, title={Is a clean river fun for all? Recognizing social vulnerability in watershed planning}, volume={13}, ISSN={1932-6203}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196416}, DOI={10.1371/journal.pone.0196416}, abstractNote={Watershed planning can lead to policy innovation and action toward environmental protection. However, groups often suffer from low engagement with communities that experience disparate impacts from flooding and water pollution. This can limit the capacity of watershed efforts to dismantle pernicious forms of social inequality. As a result, the benefits of environmental changes often flow to more empowered residents, short-changing the power of watershed-based planning as a tool to transform ecological, economic, and social relationships. The objectives of this paper are to assess whether the worldview of watershed planning actors are sufficiently attuned to local patterns of social vulnerability and whether locally significant patterns of social vulnerability can be adequately differentiated using conventional data sources. Drawing from 35 in-depth interviews with watershed planners and community stakeholders in the Milwaukee River Basin (WI, USA), we identify five unique definitions of social vulnerability. Watershed planners in our sample articulate a narrower range of social vulnerability definitions than other participants. All five definitions emphasize spatial and demographic characteristics consistent with existing ways of measuring social vulnerability. However, existing measures do not adequately differentiate among the spatio-temporal dynamics used to distinguish definitions. In response, we develop two new social vulnerability measures. The combination of interviews and demographic analyses in this study provides an assessment technique that can help watershed planners (a) understand the limits of their own conceptualization of social vulnerability and (b) acknowledge the importance of place-based vulnerabilities that may otherwise be obscured. We conclude by discussing how our methods can be a useful tool for identifying opportunities to disrupt social vulnerability in a watershed by evaluating how issue frames, outreach messages, and engagement tactics. The approach allows watershed planners to shift their own culture in order to consider socially vulnerable populations comprehensively.}, number={5}, journal={PLOS ONE}, publisher={Public Library of Science (PLoS)}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Greenlee, Andrew J. and Prochaska, Natalie K. and Chantrill, Carolina V. and Contractor, Annie B. and Wilhoit, Juliana M. and Abts, Nancy and Hornik, Kaitlyn}, editor={Doi, HideyukiEditor}, year={2018}, month={May}, pages={e0196416} }
 @article{mclaughlin_cutts_2018, title={Neither Knowledge Deficit nor NIMBY: Understanding Opposition to Hydraulic Fracturing as a Nuanced Coalition in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (USA)}, volume={62}, ISSN={["1432-1009"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1052-3}, DOI={10.1007/s00267-018-1052-3}, abstractNote={The expansion of unconventional sources of natural gas across the world has generated public controversy surrounding fracking drilling methods. Public debates continue to reverberate through policy domains despite very inconclusive biophysical evidence of net harm. As a consequence, there is a need to test the hypothesis that resistance to fracking is due to the way it redistributes economic and environmental risks. As in many other communities, opposition to fracking is common in central Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, (USA) but the rationale underpinning opposition is poorly understood. We test the prevailing assumption in the environmental management literature that fracking opposition is motivated by knowledge deficits and/or not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) politics. This study uses Q methodology to examine emergent perspectives and sub-discourses within the fracking opposition debate in central Westmoreland County, PA. Q methodology offers a systematic and iterative use of both quantitative and qualitative research techniques to explore frequently overlooked marginal viewpoints that are critical to understanding the fracking problem. The analysis reveals four different narratives of factors amongst people actively involved in locally opposing fracking, labeled (1) Future Fears; (2) NIMBY (3) Community Concerns; and (4) Distrust Stakeholders. The conflicts that emerge across these four factors are indicative of deeper discourse within the fracking debate that signifies diversity in motivations, values, and convictions, and suggests the inadequacy of relying on knowledge deficit and/or NIMBY explanations to fracking politics.}, number={2}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={McLaughlin, Danielle M. and Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2018}, month={Aug}, pages={305–322} }
 @article{larson_lauber_kay_cutts_2017, title={Local Government Capacity to Respond to Environmental Change: Insights from Towns in New York State}, volume={60}, ISSN={0364-152X 1432-1009}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0860-1}, DOI={10.1007/s00267-017-0860-1}, abstractNote={Local governments attempting to respond to environmental change face an array of challenges. To better understand policy responses and factors influencing local government capacity to respond to environmental change, we studied three environmental issues affecting rural or peri-urban towns in different regions of New York State: climate change in the Adirondacks (n = 63 towns), loss of open space due to residential/commercial development in the Hudson Valley (n = 50), and natural gas development in the Southern Tier (n = 62). Our analysis focused on towns' progression through three key stages of the environmental policy process (issue awareness and salience, common goals and agenda setting, policy development and implementation) and the factors that affect this progression and overall capacity for environmental governance. We found that-when compared to towns addressing open space development and natural gas development-towns confronted with climate change were at a much earlier stage in the policy process and were generally less likely to display the essential resources, social support, and political legitimacy needed for an effective policy response. Social capital cultivated through collaboration and networking was strongly associated with towns' policy response across all regions and could help municipalities overcome omnipresent resource constraints. By comparing and contrasting municipal responses to each issue, this study highlights the processes and factors influencing local government capacity to address a range of environmental changes across diverse management contexts.}, number={1}, journal={Environmental Management}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Larson, Lincoln R. and Lauber, T. Bruce and Kay, David L. and Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2017}, month={Apr}, pages={118–135} }
 @article{cutts_london_meiners_schwarz_cadenasso_2017, title={Moving dirt: soil, lead, and the dynamic spatial politics of urban gardening}, volume={22}, ISSN={1354-9839 1469-6711}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2017.1320539}, DOI={10.1080/13549839.2017.1320539}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT Urban gardens are often heralded as places for building social, physical, and environmental health. Yet they are also sites of significant conflict based on competing political, economic, and ecological projects. These projects range from radical re-envisionings of liberatory urban spaces, reformist aesthetic and sanitary improvement programmes, to underwriting the production of the neo-liberal city. These projects are based on divergent visions of the garden ground itself, in particular, whether this is soil (the fertile and living source for growing food and social values) or dirt (an inert and even problematic substrate to be removed or built upon for development purposes). These are not fixed or mutually exclusive categories, but are unstable as soil/dirt moves in discursive and material ways over time and space. Contaminants such as lead in the soil contribute to this instability, reframing fertile soil as dangerous dirt. To understand this discursive and material movement of soil/dirt over time and space, a dynamic spatial politics framework is needed that encompasses three scalar concepts: location, duration, and interconnection. This paper applies this dynamic spatial politics framework to interpret the 30-year conflict over the fate of an urban garden in Sacramento, California, that began as a countercultural space and was eventually transformed into a manicured amenity for a gentrifying neighbourhood, and the role of soil lead contamination in this narrative.}, number={8}, journal={Local Environment}, publisher={Informa UK Limited}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and London, Jonathan K. and Meiners, Shaina and Schwarz, Kirsten and Cadenasso, Mary L.}, year={2017}, month={May}, pages={998–1018} }
 @article{london_schwarz_cadenasso_cutts_mason_lim_valenzuela-garcia_smith_2017, title={Weaving Community-University Research and Action Partnerships for environmental justice}, volume={16}, ISSN={1476-7503 1741-2617}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1476750316678915}, DOI={10.1177/1476750316678915}, abstractNote={ This article is a case study of one Community-University Research and Action Partnership (CURAP) focused on soil lead, urban gardening, and environmental justice in Sacramento, California. We argue that creating and sustaining CURAPs requires a process of weaving together diverse strands of knowledge, resources, and lines of accountability that connect all parties involved. Like the physical process of weaving fabric, weaving CURAPs involve creative and collaborative uses and responses to tension between all elements of a partnership. This is especially true in long-term partnerships intended to address systemic environmental injustices. This case highlights the power relationships and challenges associated with such partnerships and presents several lessons to enrich the scholarship and practices of action research. }, number={2}, journal={Action Research}, publisher={SAGE Publications}, author={London, Jonathan K and Schwarz, Kirsten and Cadenasso, Mary L and Cutts, Bethany B and Mason, Charles, Jr and Lim, Jeanette and Valenzuela-Garcia, Katie and Smith, Heather}, year={2017}, month={Mar}, pages={173–189} }
 @article{hornik_cutts_greenlee_2016, title={Community Theories of Change: Linking Environmental Justice to Sustainability through Stakeholder Perceptions in Milwaukee (WI, USA)}, volume={13}, ISSN={1660-4601}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13100979}, DOI={10.3390/ijerph13100979}, abstractNote={Environmental justice and sustainability are compatible lenses, yet action toward equity is often missing from urban sustainability initiatives. This study aims to assess the cohesion of these frameworks in practice. To do this, we parse individuals’ theories of change, or how they identify and propose to resolve environmental injustices in the pursuit of sustainability. We posit that these theories of change are comprised of three main components: (1) perceived environmental benefits and burdens; (2) the causal pathways of environmental and social injustice; and (3) visions for positive change. Drawing from 35 stakeholder interviews in Milwaukee (WI, USA) we examine individual and institutional perspectives on environmental and social change and their links to the production of injustice. Our findings reveal that participants do not distinguish between environmental and social injustices. Instead, both social and environmental factors are implicated in injustice. Furthermore, we identify two mental maps for how social and economic change reproduce injustice. These findings suggest the need to reorient how urban injustice is considered and make efforts to acknowledge how a diversity of operational theories of change could either be divisive or could bring environmental justice and sustainability initiatives together.}, number={10}, journal={International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Hornik, Kaitlyn and Cutts, Bethany and Greenlee, Andrew}, year={2016}, month={Sep}, pages={979} }
 @inbook{cutts_2016, title={Everything Cannot Be Equal: Ranking Priorities and Revealing Worldviews to Guide Watershed Management}, ISBN={9783319285412 9783319285436}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_19}, DOI={10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_19}, booktitle={Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies}, publisher={Springer International Publishing}, author={Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2016}, pages={149–154} }
 @article{schwarz_cutts_london_cadenasso_2016, title={Growing Gardens in Shrinking Cities: A Solution to the Soil Lead Problem?}, volume={8}, ISSN={2071-1050}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8020141}, DOI={10.3390/su8020141}, abstractNote={As cities shrink, they often leave a patchwork of vacancy on the landscape. The maintenance of vacant lands and eventual transformation to sustainable land uses is a challenge all cities face, but one that is particularly pronounced in shrinking cities. Vacant lands can support sustainability initiatives, specifically the expansion of urban gardens and local food production. However, many shrinking cities are the same aging cities that have experienced the highest soil lead burdens from their industrial past as well as the historic use of lead-based paint and leaded gasoline. Elevated soil lead is often viewed as a barrier to urban agriculture and managing for multiple ecosystem services, including food production and reduced soil lead exposure, remains a challenge. In this paper, we argue that a shift in framing the soil lead and gardening issue from potential conflict to potential solution can advance both urban sustainability goals and support healthy gardening efforts. Urban gardening as a potential solution to the soil lead problem stems from investment in place and is realized through multiple activities, in particular (1) soil management, including soil testing and the addition of amendments, and (2) social network and community building that leverages resources and knowledge.}, number={2}, journal={Sustainability}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Schwarz, Kirsten and Cutts, Bethany and London, Jonathan and Cadenasso, Mary}, year={2016}, month={Feb}, pages={141} }
 @article{cutts_fang_hornik_london_schwarz_cadenasso_2016, title={Media Frames and Shifting Places of Environmental (In)Justice: A Qualitative Historical Geographic Information System Method}, volume={9}, ISSN={1939-4071 1937-5174}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/env.2015.0027}, DOI={10.1089/env.2015.0027}, abstractNote={Abstract Newspapers are underused as a source of spatial data in environmental justice research. Recent advances in qualitative historical geographic information systems (QHGIS) provide an opportunity for deeper investigation into how newspapers reflect changing meanings of place in relation to environmental burden and environmental benefit. This article introduces a protocol to identify and map locations associated with different media frames. We apply QHGIS to urban gardening and soil lead issues reported in Sacramento, California. We find that the QHGIS method enhances conventional approaches to case study archival research and media analysis because it reveals: (a) the distribution of public narratives of environmental concern across the city, (b) the politics embedded in location names, (c) place name-changes that might otherwise lead to inaccurate GIS analysis, and (d) how locations can be used as a framing device to communicate environmental concerns. The method can enhance research in which the hi...}, number={1}, journal={Environmental Justice}, publisher={Mary Ann Liebert Inc}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Fang, Danqi and Hornik, Kaitlyn and London, Jonathan K. and Schwarz, Kirsten and Cadenasso, Mary L.}, year={2016}, month={Feb}, pages={23–28} }
 @article{muñoz-erickson_cutts_2016, title={Structural dimensions of knowledge-action networks for sustainability}, volume={18}, ISSN={1877-3435}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2015.08.013}, DOI={10.1016/j.cosust.2015.08.013}, abstractNote={Research on the influence of social network structure over flows of knowledge in support of sustainability governance and action has recently flourished. These studies highlight three challenges to evaluating knowledge-action networks: first, defining boundaries; second, characterizing power distributions; and third, identifying obstacles to knowledge sharing and connectivity. We present concepts from social network analysis (SNA) commonly found to influence knowledge flows. We examine applications of SNA from across the social sciences and use the case of land governance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as an illustration of how all three challenges affect knowledge-action networks. SNA is a useful way to understand and overcome many challenges to knowledge flow and thus help improve informational governance strategies for sustainability.}, journal={Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Muñoz-Erickson, Tischa A and Cutts, Bethany B}, year={2016}, month={Feb}, pages={56–64} }
 @article{minn_cutts_greenberg_pavlovic_fraterrigo_turner_2015, title={Detection of foreclosure-related landscape management changes using Landsat}, volume={62}, ISSN={0143-6228}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.04.023}, DOI={10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.04.023}, abstractNote={The volume of properties affected by foreclosure over the past decade suggests the potential for dramatic change in vegetation cover due to changes in management. Yet, the specific pathology of each foreclosure, the temporal asynchrony among foreclosures, and differences in the area available for vegetation growth across properties presents challenges to observing and measuring change. This paper develops and tests a difference in deviations approach that compares the parcel NDVI to a neighborhood norm before and after foreclosure. The difference in deviations approach addresses the challenges of separating parcel-level change corresponding to foreclosure and identifies changes on both small and large parcels. The method relies on a time series of Landsat Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data, individual home foreclosure records and property tax assessment data for Maricopa County, Arizona from 2002 to 2012. To establish the level of difference associated with observable landscape change, we use a probit regression model, coding Google Earth images for properties across the range of observed deviations of difference. The basic assumption underlying the approach is that if foreclosure coincides with a change in management, it will lead to changes in vegetation structure and thus, NDVI values. We estimate that 13% of home foreclosures in Maricopa County over the period from 2002 to 2012 resulted in declines in vegetation whereas 6.5% resulted in vegetation increases. Future uses of this method for understanding landscape management in residential landscapes are discussed.}, journal={Applied Geography}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Minn, Michael and Cutts, Bethany B. and Greenberg, Jonathan A. and Pavlovic, Nathan and Fraterrigo, Jennifer M. and Turner, V. Kelly}, year={2015}, month={Aug}, pages={217–224} }
 @article{cutts_sinclair_strauch_slivnick_emmons_2015, title={Environmental Justice and Emerging Information Communication Technology: A Review for U.S. Natural Disaster Management}, volume={8}, ISSN={1939-4071 1937-5174}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/env.2015.0012}, DOI={10.1089/env.2015.0012}, abstractNote={Abstract The Internet age has led to a proliferation of so-called emerging information communication technologies (eICTs). As the personal use of the Internet, mobile devices, and social media has expanded and evolved, these eICTs have been incorporated into strategies to improve risk communication associated with natural disaster management. A review of eICT use as part of natural disaster communication is critical to knowing whether the new technologies support the needs and risk cultures of historically disenfranchised populations and whether they ultimately provide an opportunity to better address both acute and chronic environmental hazards. There is a need to know whether eICTs differ from other technologies in the ways that they exacerbate old environmental injustices and/or create new ones. This article reviews the eICT literature based with a focus on the U.S. Through a review of published and gray literature, we evaluate whether research articles acknowledge or directly address environmental and...}, number={4}, journal={Environmental Justice}, publisher={Mary Ann Liebert Inc}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Sinclair, Kristina M. and Strauch, Michaele A. and Slivnick, Brian and Emmons, Zoe}, year={2015}, month={Aug}, pages={144–150} }
 @article{roche_cutts_derner_lubell_tate_2015, title={On-Ranch Grazing Strategies: Context for the Rotational Grazing Dilemma}, volume={68}, ISSN={1550-7424}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2015.03.011}, DOI={10.1016/j.rama.2015.03.011}, abstractNote={Considerable debate remains over the efficacy of rotational grazing systems to enhance conservation and agricultural production goals on rangelands. We analyzed responses to grazing management questions in the Rangeland Decision Making Surveys of 765 California and Wyoming ranchers in order to characterize on-ranch grazing strategies and identify variables influencing strategy adoption. Two-thirds of respondents practice on-ranch rotational grazing strategies, indicating ranchers do experience benefits from rotation which have not been documented in experimental comparisons of rotational and continuous grazing systems. Limited on-ranch adoption of intensive rotational strategies (5% of respondents) indicates potential agreement between research and management perceptions about the success of this particular strategy for achieving primary livestock production goals. Over 93% of all rotational grazer respondents were characterized as using extensive intragrowing season rotation with moderate (few wk to mo) grazing period durations, moderate (2.4–8 ha·animal unit) livestock densities, and growing season rest periods. Variables associated with ranchers’ grazing preferences included a mixture of human dimensions (goal setting, views on experiment and risk tolerance, information networks), ranch characteristics (total number of livestock, land types comprising ranch), and ecoregions. We also found that the majority of grazing systems research has largely been conducted at spatial and temporal scales that are orders of magnitude finer than conditions under which on-ranch adaptive grazing management strategies have been developed. Resolving the discrepancies between the grazing systems research and management knowledge base will require substantive communication and novel approaches to participatory research between scientists and managers.}, number={3}, journal={Rangeland Ecology & Management}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Roche, L.M. and Cutts, B.B. and Derner, J.D. and Lubell, M.N. and Tate, K.W.}, year={2015}, month={May}, pages={248–256} }
 @article{cutts_muñoz-erickson_shutters_2015, title={Public Representation in Water Management—A Network Analysis of Organization and Public Perceptions in Phoenix, Arizona}, volume={28}, ISSN={0894-1920 1521-0723}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2015.1020581}, DOI={10.1080/08941920.2015.1020581}, abstractNote={To better accomplish their mission of an informed public, environmental education organizations often exchange ideas, share financing, and distribute overhead through collaboration. Yet it remains to be seen whether benefits of these collaborations extend to the public. We examine two possible benefits: the ability of the organizations to act as representatives of the public interest, and equitable access to environmental educational materials. We model patterns of public access to water-related education across organizations using two surveys in metropolitan Phoenix, AZ. This enables the study of interorganizational social networks and public outcomes. Results support the idea that environmental education organizations could provide a credible proxy for direct citizen participation. However, not all organizations are equivalently engaged with historically underrepresented groups like women, minority racial and ethnic groups, and those who rent their home. The implications for more inclusive environmental policy decisions are discussed.}, number={12}, journal={Society & Natural Resources}, publisher={Informa UK Limited}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Muñoz-Erickson, Tischa A. and Shutters, Shade T.}, year={2015}, month={May}, pages={1340–1357} }
 @article{roche_schohr_derner_lubell_cutts_kachergis_eviner_tate_2015, title={Sustaining Working Rangelands: Insights from Rancher Decision Making}, volume={68}, ISSN={1550-7424}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2015.07.006}, DOI={10.1016/j.rama.2015.07.006}, abstractNote={Grazed rangeland ecosystems encompass diverse global land resources and are complex social-ecological systems from which society demands both goods (e.g., livestock and forage production) and services (e.g., abundant and high-quality water). Including the ranching community’s perceptions, knowledge, and decision-making is essential to advancing the ongoing dialogue to define sustainable working rangelands. We surveyed 507 (33% response rate) California ranchers to gain insight into key factors shaping their decision-making, perspectives on effective management practices and ranching information sources, as well as their concerns. First, we found that variation in ranch structure, management goals, and decision making across California’s ranching operations aligns with the call from sustainability science to maintain flexibility at multiple scales to support the suite of economic and ecological services they can provide. The diversity in ranching operations highlights why single-policy and management “panaceas” often fail. Second, the information resources ranchers rely on suggest that sustaining working rangelands will require collaborative, trust-based partnerships focused on achieving both economic and ecological goals. Third, ranchers perceive environmental regulations and government policies—rather than environmental drivers—as the major threats to the future of their operations.}, number={5}, journal={Rangeland Ecology & Management}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Roche, Leslie M. and Schohr, Tracy K. and Derner, Justin D. and Lubell, Mark N. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Kachergis, Emily and Eviner, Valerie T. and Tate, Kenneth W.}, year={2015}, month={Sep}, pages={383–389} }
 @article{kachergis_derner_cutts_roche_eviner_lubell_tate_2014, title={Increasing flexibility in rangeland management during drought}, volume={5}, ISSN={2150-8925}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00402.1}, DOI={10.1890/ES13-00402.1}, abstractNote={Extreme droughts like the recent 2011–2013 drought impacting the central and western United States present a challenge to sustaining livestock ranching operations and the ecosystem goods and services they produce. Wyoming ranchers manage half of this drought‐prone state and are at the forefront of this challenge. We examined Wyoming ranchers' drought management strategies and how ranch characteristics affect drought management flexibility, a key component of resilience, through a mail survey. We find that many survey respondents manage drought in similar ways, by selling livestock and buying feed, highlighting the market risks associated with drought. Ranches that are larger, include yearling livestock, use shorter grazing periods, and/or incorporate alternative on‐ranch activities (e.g., hunting) use more drought management practices and thus have greater flexibility. Larger ranches experience fewer drought impacts, highlighting advantages of a larger resource base. Our findings suggest three components of national drought policy that encourages flexibility and thus increases resilience of ranches to drought: (1) encouraging forage‐sharing mechanisms; (2) promoting income diversification that is independent of climatic variability; and (3) facilitating a shift to diversified livestock production systems. These measures could increase sustainability of ranching livelihoods and provision of ecosystem services despite predicted increases in intensity and duration of future droughts.}, number={6}, journal={Ecosphere}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Kachergis, Emily and Derner, Justin D. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Roche, Leslie M. and Eviner, Valerie T. and Lubell, Mark N. and Tate, Kenneth W.}, year={2014}, month={Jun}, pages={art77–art77} }
 @article{lubell_cutts_roche_hamilton_derner_kachergis_tate_2013, title={Conservation Program Participation and Adaptive Rangeland Decision-Making}, volume={66}, ISSN={1550-7424}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.2111/rem-d-13-00025.1}, DOI={10.2111/rem-d-13-00025.1}, abstractNote={Abstract This paper analyzes rancher participation in conservation programs in the context of a social-ecological framework for adaptive rangeland decision-making. We argue that conservation programs are best understood as one of many strategies of adaptively managing rangelands in ways that sustain livelihoods and ecosystem services. The framework hypothesizes four categories of variables affecting conservation program participation: operation/operator characteristics, time horizon, social network connections, and social values. Based on a mail survey of California ranchers, multinomial logit models are used to estimate the impact of these variables on different levels of rancher involvement in conservation programs. The findings suggest that ranchers with larger amounts of land, an orientation towards the future, and who are opinion leaders with access to conservation information, are more likely to participate in conservation programs.}, number={6}, journal={Rangeland Ecology & Management}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Lubell, M.N. and Cutts, B.B. and Roche, L.M. and Hamilton, M. and Derner, J.D. and Kachergis, E. and Tate, K.W.}, year={2013}, month={Nov}, pages={609–620} }
 @article{cutts_moore_fox-gowda_knox_kinzig_2013, title={Testing Neighborhood, Information Seeking, and Attitudes as Explanations of Environmental Knowledge Using Random Forest and Conditional Inference Models}, volume={65}, ISSN={0033-0124 1467-9272}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2012.724347}, DOI={10.1080/00330124.2012.724347}, abstractNote={This article tests the explanatory power and interactions among five alternative explanations of environmental knowledge: (1) local information availability, (2) neighborhood characteristics, (3) environmental attitudes, (4) personal empowerment, and (5) information seeking. Using random forest and conditional inference trees, the article analyzes survey responses and finds that attitudes about personal empowerment and frequent information seeking are the strongest predictors of knowledge. The study offers random forest and conditional inference trees as statistical tools for complex data sets and studies that test hypotheses generated from multiple theories. We discuss the influence of knowledge differences over inclusive sustainability discussions.}, number={4}, journal={The Professional Geographer}, publisher={Informa UK Limited}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Moore, Nicholas and Fox-Gowda, Ariana and Knox, Allyn C. and Kinzig, Ann}, year={2013}, month={Nov}, pages={561–579} }
 @inbook{cutts_2012, title={Evaluating Collective Effects: A Participatory Approach to Mapping Public Information About Water Issues in an Uncertain and Politicized Context}, ISBN={9789400747333 9789400747340}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4734-0_3}, DOI={10.1007/978-94-007-4734-0_3}, booktitle={Geospatial Tools for Urban Water Resources}, publisher={Springer Netherlands}, author={Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2012}, month={Jul}, pages={37–60} }
 @article{cutts_2012, title={Spatial interactions between organizations and the symbolic landscapes created by their public information campaigns}, volume={15}, ISSN={1366-7017 1996-9759}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2012.059}, DOI={10.2166/wp.2012.059}, abstractNote={This study investigates public information as a component of the democratic process, advancing previous frameworks by considering information as a spatial product of multiple governmental and civil society organizations. The symbolic weight of information campaigns is a critical component of two democratic processes: awareness of the public's vulnerability to formal water policy change and the perception within the public that the policy space is open to their participation. This research examines the locations of water-centered public information across 31 organizations in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The patterns of disparities found in the study indicate that the neighborhoods in the eastern portion of the study region receive more information than those in Phoenix or cities to the west. There is also more information in areas with large numbers of rental homes, but less information in regions with larger Latino populations. Results support a need to evaluate new initiatives for public information with respect to the content and distribution of materials originating from multiple sources. Evaluating the patterns created by water information providers could aid more strategic coordination among groups and provide a bellwether of whether public interests are adequately considered in local water decision-making processes and the distribution of outcomes.}, number={1}, journal={Water Policy}, publisher={IWA Publishing}, author={Cutts, Bethany B.}, year={2012}, month={Oct}, pages={61–78} }
 @article{cutts_white_kinzig_2011, title={Participatory geographic information systems for the co-production of science and policy in an emerging boundary organization}, volume={14}, ISSN={1462-9011}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.05.012}, DOI={10.1016/j.envsci.2011.05.012}, abstractNote={Boundary organizations are designed to stabilize the relationship between science and policy communities. The literature emphasizes that products (i.e., boundary objects) should be salient, legitimate, and credible to both communities. The related field of participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) focuses on creating useful products (i.e., maps and geographic information systems) in an explicitly political environment. PGIS focuses more directly on the ways in which people may engage with information and power dynamics between actors. We argue that the epistemological parallels between PGIS and boundary organization research create an opportunity to fuse approaches to the advantage of both fields. Combining approaches facilitates communication and provides opportunities to negotiate conflict between science and policy. We apply the frames to a public information project conducted in a water resource decision-making boundary organization in Phoenix, Arizona. Through participatory action research, we evaluate the extent to which relationships between saliency, legitimacy, and credibility across change through time and interact with one another. We find that the boundary organization framework provides a unique role for science in framing questions and evaluating the feasibility of environmental management solutions. However, it neither guides the process of generating boundary objects nor adequately conceptualizes heterogeneity within the policy community. PGIS highlights processes internal to the policy community driving low levels of political support for initial maps of public information programs. Credibility improved after participants discussed why they felt maps lacked legitimacy, and credibility. Discussion among policy makers at a meeting convened by scientists improved legitimacy and credibility. Despite policy involvement in the process of generating research questions, the saliency of the map remained low. Policy stakeholders viewed the map as a necessary precursor to more usable science in the future rather than a as boundary object per se. The framework developed and applied in this paper is relevant to research centers and projects that intend to link policy and science that have stronger formal ties of accountability to science through funding.}, number={8}, journal={Environmental Science & Policy}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and White, Dave D. and Kinzig, Ann P.}, year={2011}, month={Dec}, pages={977–985} }
 @article{muñoz-erickson_cutts_larson_neff_darby_bolin_wutich_2010, title={Spanning boundaries in an Arizona watershed partnership: information networks as tools for entrenchment or ties for cooperation?}, volume={15}, url={http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss3/art22/}, number={3}, journal={Ecology & Society}, author={Muñoz-Erickson, T. and Cutts, B.B. and Larson, E.K. and Neff, M. and Darby, K.J. and Bolin, B. and Wutich, A.}, year={2010}, pages={22} }
 @article{cutts_darby_boone_brewis_2009, title={City structure, obesity, and environmental justice: An integrated analysis of physical and social barriers to walkable streets and park access}, volume={69}, ISSN={0277-9536}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.08.020}, DOI={10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.08.020}, abstractNote={Local parks and walkable neighborhoods are commonly cited as elements of the urban environment that promote physical activity and reduce obesity risk. When those vulnerable to obesity-related diseases live in neighborhoods without these qualities, it works against environmental justice goals that aim for a fair distribution of amenities. We use geographic information systems (GIS) to evaluate the relationship between the distribution of populations vulnerable to obesity and proximity to parks and walkable street networks in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Though previous studies have used GIS to assess the distribution of access to opportunities for physical activity, none have analyzed access to both parks and walkable resources at once. Neither have they included data that reflects findings on a smaller scale indicating that perceptions of resource quality, safety, and cultural relevance also affect physical activity levels. We include these safety and quality factors in our study through statistical data on traffic fatalities, crime rates and park size. We find that, counter to predictions, subpopulations generally considered vulnerable to obesity (and environmental injustices more generally) are more likely to live in walkable neighborhoods and have better walking access to neighborhood parks than other groups in Phoenix. However, crime is highest in walkable neighborhoods with large Latino/a and African-American populations and parks are smaller in areas populated by Latino/as. Given the higher prevalence of obesity and related diseases in lower income and minority populations in Phoenix, the results suggest that benefits of built environments may be offset by social characteristics. Our most consistent finding indicates a strong negative relationship between the percentage of the population under 18 years of age living in an area and the likelihood that the structure of the built environment supports physical activity. Children under 18 are significantly underrepresented in regions deemed highly walkable and those with access to parks.}, number={9}, journal={Social Science & Medicine}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Darby, Kate J. and Boone, Christopher G. and Brewis, Alexandra}, year={2009}, month={Nov}, pages={1314–1322} }
 @article{cutts_darby_boone_brewis_2009, title={City structure, obesity, and environmental justice: An integrated analysis of physical and social barriers to walkable streets and park access}, volume={69}, ISSN={0277-9536}, DOI={10.1016/S9999-9994(09)20424-7}, abstractNote={Local parks and walkable neighborhoods are commonly cited as elements of the urban environment that promote physical activity and reduce obesity risk. When those vulnerable to obesity-related diseases live in neighborhoods without these qualities, it works against environmental justice goals that aim for a fair distribution of amenities. We use geographic information systems (GIS) to evaluate the relationship between the distribution of populations vulnerable to obesity and proximity to parks and walkable street networks in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Though previous studies have used GIS to assess the distribution of access to opportunities for physical activity, none have analyzed access to both parks and walkable resources at once. Neither have they included data that reflects findings on a smaller scale indicating that perceptions of resource quality, safety, and cultural relevance also affect physical activity levels. We include these safety and quality factors in our study through statistical data on traffic fatalities, crime rates and park size. We find that, counter to predictions, subpopulations generally considered vulnerable to obesity (and environmental injustices more generally) are more likely to live in walkable neighborhoods and have better walking access to neighborhood parks than other groups in Phoenix. However, crime is highest in walkable neighborhoods with large Latino/a and African-American populations and parks are smaller in areas populated by Latino/as. Given the higher prevalence of obesity and related diseases in lower income and minority populations in Phoenix, the results suggest that benefits of built environments may be offset by social characteristics. Our most consistent finding indicates a strong negative relationship between the percentage of the population under 18 years of age living in an area and the likelihood that the structure of the built environment supports physical activity. Children under 18 are significantly underrepresented in regions deemed highly walkable and those with access to parks.}, number={9}, journal={Social Science & Medicine}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Cutts, Bethany B. and Darby, Kate J. and Boone, Christopher G. and Brewis, Alexandra}, year={2009}, month={Nov}, pages={1314–1322} }
 @article{cutts_saltz_elser_2008, title={Insights into the Interactions between Educational Messages: Looking across Multiple Organizations Addressing Water Issues in Maricopa County, Arizona}, volume={7}, ISSN={1533-015X 1533-0389}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15330150802194904}, DOI={10.1080/15330150802194904}, abstractNote={The public receives environmental information from a variety of sources. Evaluation of a single program or one organization's effort is incomplete. Through surveys and interviews, we evaluate the cumulative impact of outreach by 20 water-related organizations in Maricopa County, Arizona. Household water conservation is a topic addressed by 18 organizations whereas 2 share information on water policy. Similar foci across organizations may help reinforce messages about water conservation, quality, or drought, but can also lead to gaps in water education. These gaps may decrease the relevance of water information to some audiences. Future research should examine additional ways that interorganizational relationships affect the geography of information opportunities and its relevance to unique populations.}, number={1-2}, journal={Applied Environmental Education & Communication}, publisher={Informa UK Limited}, author={Cutts, Bethany and Saltz, Charlene and Elser, Monica}, year={2008}, month={Aug}, pages={40–50} }