Equitable Green Infrastructure Research Led by Architecture Assistant Professor Courtney Crosson Featured in ScienceDaily

Research from a National Institute for Transportation and Communities report led by Courtney Crosson, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Arizona's College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, was featured on September 4, 2020 in ScienceDaily.

Crosson's research, conducted with Daoqin Tong (Arizona State University) and Yinan Zhang (UArizona), explores the potential of green infrastructure for mitigating flood impacts, particularly related to the mobility of low-income and minority communities.

"Short-term flooding from extreme storm events poses a serious transportation challenge in U.S. cities," the article states. "This problem—which is anticipated to grow over the next century with our global climate crisis—is often hardest on vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority neighborhoods."

The research cited in the report, which stems from the researchers' analysis of Tucson, Arizona's multimodal transportation system in low-income and minority neighborhoods, "advances national research methods for assessing flood vulnerability and prioritizing transportation improvement investments to ensure that no community is left stranded when the next flood occurs."

Crosson, who joined CAPLA in 2016, is a licensed architect and assistant professor who teaches classes on water in the built environment and community outreach studios. These studios, funded by the city, county or private practice, tackle critical issues in urban sustainability. Her current research advances decentralized water systems to address pressing problems facing cities—whether water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest or safe and affordable water access in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University and BA in Art History from Duke University.