RESEARCH TRACK 2 — [Green + blue + grey] infrastructure
About this track​
This track includes three broad topics: green infrastructure (i.e., green stormwater management projects, parks, greenways, urban forests, urban food production spaces); blue infrastructure (e.g., constructed waterways, waterscapes); and grey infrastructure (e.g., “complete streets” elements such as sidewalks, bumpouts, bike lanes, abandoned railways, electric vehicle charging stations). Within this track, I am interested in a number of sub-topics, including:
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How community capacity, resiliency, and preference are connected to the equitable spatial distribution and prioritization process of green-blue-grey infrastructure at a macro or micro scale;
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How ecological and socioeconomic indicators can be integrated with spatial planning models and tools;
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How people create memories and develop emotions related to green, blue, and grey features;
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How community inputs can be directly integrated into the green-blue-grey infrastructure planning and design process to build a sense of ownership;
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How communities perceive triple bottom line benefits (i.e., social, environmental, and economic benefits) of green-blue-grey infrastructure; and
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How green infrastructure projects should be tied to placemaking concepts to offer social benefits and acceptance in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Relevant projects
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Greening Camden: Educating, Empowering, and Enriching Communities for Climate Action and Cleaner Air (2024 - 2026)
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Sponsor - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mahbubur Meenar (PI), Elizabeth Cerceo (Co-PI), Jagadish Torlapati (Co-PI), Qian He (Co-PI), and Ben Saracco (Co-PI), $100,000
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Machine Learning-based Predictive Analysis to Understand Public Health Risk from Heavy Metal Exposure in Camden (2024 - 2025)
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Sponsor - South Jersey Institute for Population Health, Paromita Nath (PI), Mahbubur Meenar (Co-PI), Thivanka Ariyarathna (Co-PI), Shaneka Boucher (Co-PI), and Iman Dehzangi (Co-PI), $24,988
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Sponsor - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Mahbubur Meenar (PI), Md Shahinoor Rahman (Co-I), Deepti Adlakha (Co-I), Ted Howell (Co-I), $100,000
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The EMoGI Project: Emotional Mapping of Green Infrastructure in Disadvantaged Urban Places​ (2022 - 2023)
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Sponsor - Rowan University Office of Research Development, Mahbubur Meenar (PI), Jennifer Kitson (Co-PI), Leslie Spencer (Co-PI), and Ashley York (Co-PI), $25,000
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CAmden Stormwater Heavy-Metal Analysis and Mapping Project (CASH-MAP) (2023 - 2024)​
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Sponsor - South Jersey Institute for Population Health, Mahbubur Meenar (PI), Thivanka Ariyarathna (Co-PI), Eli Moore (Co-PI), and David Salas de la Cruz (Co-PI), $25,000 ​
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​Urban Heat Islands and Green Infrastructure Connection: Resident Perceptions Linking Climate Change (2020 - 2022)
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Partner - Henry Rowan College of Engineering, Mahbubur Meenar (PI), Sarah Bauer (Co-PI), Md Shahinoor Rahman (Co-PI)
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Camden Waterfront South Green Infrastructure Master Plan (2018 - 2019)
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Sponsor - Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, ​Mahbubur Meenar (PI)​, $53,175
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Equitable Distribution of Green Stormwater Infrastructure Projects in Philadelphia (2017 - 2018)
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Sponsor - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program, through a subaward from Temple University (Laura Toran - PI, Lynn Mandarano - Co-PI), Mahbubur Meenar (PI for Rowan University), $41, 020 in two phases
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Listen. Record. Play. Equitable Placemaking and Environmental Park Design in Camden through Audio Storytelling​ (2018 - 2019)
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Sponsor - Rowan Research Experience for Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) grant, Jennifer Kitson (PI), Mahbubur Meenar (Co-PI), $5,000
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The Montessori School Stormwater Management and Landscape Master Plan (2016 - 2017)
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Sponsor - PA Department of Environmental Protection through Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and The Montessori School, Mahbubur Meenar (PI), $14,000
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Relevant publications
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Meenar, M., Rahman, M., Russuck, J., Bauer, S., & Kapri, K. (2023). “The Urban Poor and Vulnerable Are Hit Hardest by the Heat”: A Heat Equity Lens to Understand Community Perceptions of Climate Change, Urban Heat Islands, and Green Infrastructure, Land, 12(12), 2174.
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Kitson, J., Bucknum, M., & Meenar, M. (2023). Staging hydrophilic encounters – experiential methods for creating dialogic listening space. Social & Cultural Geography. 24(5), 778-795. Published online in 2021.
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Meenar, M., Heckert, M., & Adlakha, D. (2022). “Green enough ain’t good enough:” Public perceptions and emotions related to green infrastructure in environmental justice communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.,19(3), 1448.
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Mennis, J; Li, X; Meenar, M., Coatsworth, D., McKeon, T., & Mason, M. (2021). Residential greenspace and urban adolescent substance use: Exploring interactive effects with peer network health, sex, and executive function. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1611.
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Tirri, C.**, Swanson, H.*, & Meenar, M. (2021). Finding the “heart” in the green: Conducting a bibliometric analysis to emphasize the need for connecting emotions with biophilic urban planning. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), 9435.
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Meenar, M., Howell, J. P., Moulton, D.*, & Walsh, S.* (2020). Green stormwater infrastructure planning in urban landscapes: Understanding context, appearance, meaning, and perception. Land, 9(12), 534.
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Meenar, M. (2019). Integrating placemaking concepts into green stormwater infrastructure design in the City of Philadelphia. Environmental Practice, 21(1), 4-19.
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Ahmed, S.**, Meenar, M., & Alam, A. (2019). Designing a blue-green infrastructure (BGI) network: toward water-sensitive urban growth planning in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Land, 8(9), 138.
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Meenar, M., Fromuth, R., & Soro, M. (2018). Planning for watershed-wide flood-mitigation and stormwater management using an environmental justice framework. Environmental Practice, 20(2-3), 55-67.
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Christman, Z., Meenar, M., Mandarano, L., & Hearing, K. (2018). Prioritizing suitable locations for green stormwater infrastructure based on social factors in Philadelphia. Land, 7(4), 145.
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Mandarano, L. & Meenar, M. (2017). Equitable distribution of green stormwater infrastructure: a capacity-based framework for implementation in disadvantaged communities. Local Environment, 22(11), 1338-1357.
