Land Use (Urban Sprawl)

In this video Paul Andersen explains how land is developed for human use. Urbanization has occurred through the last century as people have moved to cities in large numbers. Transportation and the arrival of the car have led to urban sprawl and urban blight. Smart growth can be used to mediate some of the ecosystem impacts. Land is also preserved in parks, refuges, and wilderness areas.

Land Use Conflicts

Due to the constantly rising demand for food and energy, humanity is consuming more natural resources than are regenerated and brings the Earth's ecosystems to their performance limits. What are the consequences of the rapidly changing land use for humans and the environment? How do future sustainable land use strategies for the limited resource land look like? These are the core questions, which are analyzed interdisciplinary in the Integrated Project Land Use Conflicts.

Importance Of Mangrove Forests

Mangrove ecosystems provide a multitude of goods and services for people, including: provision of food and clean water (provisioning services), influence climate regulation, soil composition regulation and disaster risk reduction (regulating services), and recreational and spiritual space (cultural services).

Indigenous Knowledge Meets Science

To tackle a problem as large as climate change, we need both science and Indigenous wisdom, says environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim. In this engaging talk, she shares how her nomadic community in Chad is working closely with scientists to restore endangered ecosystems -- and offers lessons on how to create more resilient communities.

How Levee Wars Make Floods Worse

In our latest Vox + ProPublica collaboration, we dive into how a structure that's designed to protect us from floods, may actually be making them worse. High levees come at a high cost, often pushing water into communities that can't afford the same protection. To demonstrate, we built a giant, scientific model of a river with levees - complete with adorable tiny houses.