The SAGE research group is an NSF funded interdisciplinary collaboration that seeks to remove barriers to the selection of more climate resilient and greener infrastructure. The goal of the project is to increase co-learning on resilient infrastructure between the US Northeast and the Caribbean, and ultimately create better community outcomes from hazards. Based on four years of working together, we identified a key barrier as decision processes that come only from one discipline and that do not holistically integrate broader social concerns. The group has developed a simple but thorough approach to evaluating infrastructure projects across a range of technical, social, and environmental criteria.
Our network meetings have been in the following places:
SAGE Symposium Boston - 2019 June 6-7, 2019
Speakers
Elisabeth Hamin - PI, Professor and Head of Department, Department: Landscape Architecture & Regional Plan, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Melissa Kenney - Co-PI, Associate Director of Knowledge Initiatives, University of Minnesota, Institute on the Environment and Visiting Associate Research Professor in Environmental Decision Support Science at the University of Maryland, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC)
Bhaskar Subramanian, heads the Shoreline Conservation Service for MD Department of Natural Resources, administers Maryland’s zero-interest loan program to implement shoreline restoration projects and assists the Maryland Department of the Environment (State’s regulatory authority) in implementing Maryland's Living Shorelines Law
Rick Bennett, Ph.D. Regional Scientist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Hadley, Massachusetts
Tom Sheahan - Co-PI, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University
David Kriebel, Professor of Ocean Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy and an active consultant in coastal engineering through his company, Coastal Analytics LLC
Carter Craft, Senior Economic Officer at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York
Leonard Nurse, Retired Professor, Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Cave Hill Campus, University of the West Indies, Barbados
Dr. Ariana Sutton-Grier, Visiting Associate Research Professor, University of Maryland in the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
David Dodman, Director: Human Settlements Group, International Institute for Environment and Development, London
Click here for power point presentations from our SAGE Participants.
Scoring Workshop for the Hurst Creek Resiliency Project in Maryland - 2018
A SAGE scoring workshop was held in June to evaluate a planned coastal resilience project supported by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), Hurst Creek. Hurst Creek is located in Dorchester County, two miles east of Cambridge, Maryland and is a tributary to the Choptank River.
Scoring Workshop for the Buena Vista Santurce Barrio, San Juan, Puerto Rico - 2018
In May of 2018, the SAGE network conducted a scoring workshop and expert consultation for the Buena Vista Santurce district in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Buena Vista Santurce is a 62-acre neighborhood bordering the Caño Martín Peña, with a population density of over 15,000 people per square mile.
Click here for full description, presentations and photos: 2018 Site Visits
In 2017 the SAGE Network met in Barbados. When not in plenary, the group was divided into three impact areas: Engagement, Narrative Practice, Educational Pathways and Case Studies. The group took a day long field trip around the island visiting 10 different sites, including the Barbados Boardwalk project on Rockaway Beach.
Click here for full description, presentations and photos: SAGE 2017 Workshop
The SAGE Network congregated in Discovery Bay Marine Lab run by the University of the West Indies. The Broader Impact Groups met in between plenary sessions and the day long field trip included a trip to Kingston, the Port Royal Marine Laboratory and Biodiversity Centre and a neighborhood tour of Portmore.
Click here for full description, presentations and photos: SAGE 2015 Workshop
The first SAGE network workshop was held at the Pratt Institute. The field trip included a tour of Far Rockaway and the Office of Emergency Management, Brooklyn. The discussion focused on Hurricane Sandy and how the cities were working on becoming more resilient.
Click here for full description, presentations and photos: SAGE 2014 Workshop
Participant quote: “This was my first experience meeting in multi-disciplinary group. I’ve spent a lot of my career with numbers, coming late in life to appreciate multi-disciplinary view of issues. It is so helpful to hear how other people see things. I’ve been in the weeds all this time.”