Conducting research — before and after disasters occur — for more informed and equitable policy and design.
– Recent News + Publications
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[AWARD] The Just Environments Lab was given a 2026 Merit Award for Research and Communication by the American Society of Landscape Architects - Northern California Chapter for our historical ecology work in the Pájaro Valley
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![Photograph of a Tahitian Terraces road signs melted by the Palisades Fire]()
[NEWS] The National Low Income Housing Coalition awards JE-L and our partners, Neighborhood Partnership Housing Service, a Collaborative Disaster Recovery Research Seed Grant to assist manufactured housing communities after the Palisades Fire
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![Screenshot of publication on the JAE website]()
[PUBLICATION] The article "Designing Through Social Critique" is now available and covers our design studio frameworks
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![Screenshot of report's cover.]()
[PUBLICATION] Our report "Redesigning to Adapt to Floods in Unincorporated Areas" from our Lau project is now available
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![Photograph of a person looking at an exhibit]()
[EXHIBIT] Our Flood Event Timeline and archival flood risk research is on display at the Lau Climate Futures Exhibit during April 2025
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![Diagram showing the spreads from our Equitable Resilience report]()
[PUBLICATION] Our community report "Equitable Recovery for the Pájaro Valley After the 2023 Winter Storms" is now available!
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![Map showing areas of possible flooding in the Pájaro Valley]()
[PUBLICATION] Our Quick Response Report covering disaster recovery in unincorporated areas is now published in the Natural Hazards Center's library
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![Logo with text saying "Lau Grant for Just Climate Futures"]()
[NEWS] JE-L awarded a Lau Just Climate Futures Grant from the Institute of Urban and Regional Development to assemble an historical ecology of the Pájaro River for the U.S. Army Corps
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[AWARD] Our JAPA article on procedural vulnerability wins the award for 2023 Best Article by Emerging Scholars
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![Image of flooding in California, Winter 2023.]()
[NEWS] JE-L receives funding from CalWater + USGS to develop flood mitigation tools for unincorporated communities in California
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![Screenshot of journal cover]()
[PUBLICATION] Unincorporated and Underserved: Critical Stormwater Infrastructure Challenges in South Texas Colonias
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![Photograph of Pajaro River]()
[NEWS] JE-L receives a Quick Response Award from the Natural Hazards Center to conduct community workshops in the Pájaro Valley
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![Photo from Washington Post showing failed Pajaro River levee]()
[NEWS] "Flooded and feeling forgotten" - JE-L assists reporters examining the Pájaro Valley floods
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![Cover of our lab's report on colonia flooding]()
[PUBLICATION] Colonia Flooding: An Institutional Analysis for the Lower Río Grande Valley
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![Screenshot of the MIT LCAU article on MIT's website.]()
[PUBLICATION] From Community Resilience to Climate Justice
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![First page of the publication Procedural Vulnerability and Its Effects on Equitable Post-Disaster Recovery in Low-Income Communities]()
[PUBLICATION] Procedural Vulnerability and Its Effects on Equitable Post-Disaster Recovery in Low-Income Communities
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![Book cover for "Informality and the City"]()
[PUBLICATION] Stigmas of Informality: Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction in the South Texas Colonias
– Research Focus
We focus, first, on hazard mitigation, seeking to provide the best evidence-based protections for low-resource communities facing high risks of natural hazards. In moments of crisis, we also work with low-resource communities in disaster response, recovery, and reconstruction.
– Community Pages
Much of our research is conducted in tandem with communities and their leaders. In this vein, we coproduce research questions, methods, analyses, and reporting with communities. Many request a central location for data, findings, and publications, which we provide freely!