Scientists & Staff

Erika Svendsen
News Releases
- Research Tool for Visualizing and Understanding the Nature of Stewardship Becomes Art in New ExhibitSeptember 10, 2019
- Growing Resilient: Natural Resource Stewardship Aids in Preparing for, Recovering from DisasterMay 21, 2019
- Putting Natural Resource Stewardship on the Map in NYCAugust 4, 2017
- Forest Service 'More Kids in the Woods' Grant to Bring Bronx River Forest to ClassroomsMay 23, 2013
- Special Issue of Cities and the Environment Features Studies on Urban Forestry and MillionTreesNYC InitiativeMarch 21, 2011
- Forest Service 9/11 Documentation Efforts HonoredSeptember 7, 2007
Current Research
My pimary area of research is to better understand the role of individuals, civic groups and networked alliances within the context of disturbance and recovery. My research helps identify the key drivers and levers that help to shape, create and sustain new forms of environmental governance.One of my most popular research projects is STEW-MAP, the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project. The objective of STEW-MAP is to utilize social science methods to assess the social and spatial interactions among groups working to care for their environment. STEW-MAP techniques display groups across a landscape or region, depicting social networks, spatial gaps and overlaps, and providing partnership data in order to strengthen the shared stewardship of public and private lands. STEW-MAP captures information about environmental stewardship through (1) inventory: administering an OMB-approved organizational survey; (2) spatial analysis: geospatial mapping of stakeholder groups; and (3) social network analysis: studying relationships among civic, private, and governmental organizations. https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/STEW-MAP/
STEW-MAP is just one part of my larger research area which asks how environmental stewardship can play a role in recovery and restoration in light acute and chronic social ecolgoical disturbance? Natural resource stewardship includes many unique forms of caring for the environment and has many benefits, from the physical, to the communal, and the personal. Large-scale social-ecological disturbances and disasters are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon. These events often require large-scale coordinated emergency response and recovery efforts; however, they also cause consideration of how to create more resilient and just communities. My current work focuses on natural resource stewardship as an investment in creating communities that are better able to prepare for, respond to, and recover from all forms of stressors. See here for an on-line and assessible resource: Green Readiness, Response and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis https://www.thenatureofcities.com/grrr-book/.
Currently, I am working on research related to COVID-19 and how natural resrource mangers on our National Forests, State lands and City parks are adapting to distrubance through partnerships and civic engagment. This work will be published and available in 2021.
Research Interests
I am interested in amplifying the relationship between environmental governance, social ecological vulnerabilities and equitable social change.
Why This Research is Important
Understanding the reciprocity that exists between humans and the non-human world is essential not only to a healthy environment but to a vibrant, resilient and humane world.
Education
- Columbia University , Ph.D. Urban Planning, 2010
- Yale University, M.E.S. Forestry & Environmental Studies, 1993
- Allegheny College, B.A. Political Science, 1990
Professional Experience
- Healthy Communities Program Associate, The Regional Plan Association 2001 - 2002
- Director, NYC Parks GreenThumb Program 1997 - 2001
- Fellowship Coordinator, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International 1995 - 1997
- Urban and Community Forester, The Parks and People Foundation 1993 - 1995
- Program Associate, The Rockefeller Foundation 1991 - 1993
Professional Organizations
- New York City Urban Field Staton (2013 - Current)
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/nyc/ - The Nature of Cities (2013 - Current)
http://www.thenatureofcities.com/
Awards & Recognition
- USDA Forest Service Chief's Team Award, 2017 For advancing the work of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership Program
- Early Career Scientist Award, 2012 For amplifying the work of place-based groups in caring for the environment through the STEW-MAP project
- USDA Forest Service Chief's Award, 2009 For engaging urban America and the restoration of urban ecosystems
Featured Publications & Products
- Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Novem Auyeung, D.S. 2020. Fear and fascination: Use and perceptions of New York City's forests, wetlands, and landscaped park areas. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
- Jasny, Lorien ; Johnson, Michelle ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; Redmond, Josh. 2019. Working together: the roles of geographic proximity, homophilic organizational characteristics, and neighborhood context in civic stewardship collaboration networks in Philadelphia and New York City. Ecology and Society
- McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Weighing values and risks of beloved invasive species: The case of the survivor tree and conflict management in urban green infrastructure. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; McMillen, Heather ; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. The Written Park: Reading Multiple Urban Park Subjectivities Through Signage, Writing, and Graffiti. Space and Culture
- McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika. 2019. Recognizing urban environmental stewardship practices as indicators of social resilience: The case of living memorials. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 170-187.
- Enqvist, Johan P.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Stedman, Richard C.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Place meanings on the urban waterfront: a typology of stewardships. Sustainability Science
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David. 2019. Green Readiness, Response, and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 358 p.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; McMillen, Heather L. 2016. Stories, shrines, and symbols: Recognizing psycho-social-spiritual benefits of urban parks and natural areas. Journal of Ethnobiology. 36(4): 881-907.
- McMillen, Heather; Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika; Reynolds, Renae. 2016. Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden. Sustainability. No. 775. 8(8): 26p.
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Roman, Lara A. 2016. Knowledge Co-production at the Research-Practice Interface: Embedded Case Studies from Urban Forestry. Environmental Management. 57: 1262-1280.
Publications & Products
- Caggiano, Holly ; Landau, Laura F.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2022. Civic Stewardship and Urban Climate Governance: Opportunities for Transboundary Planning. Journal of Planning Education and Research
- Campbell, Lindsay ; Svendsen, Erika ; Johnson, Michelle ; Plitt, Sophie ; Landau, Laura. 2022. Natural resource managers adapt to disturbance: understanding and strengthening public land management and civic stewardship across both rural and urban forests during the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Building a green healthy and resillient future with forests. XV World Forestry Congress. Coes, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 9 p.
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Plitt, Sophie. 2022. Not by trees alone: Centering community in urban forestry. Landscape and Urban Planning
- Sachdeva, Sonya ; Campbell, Lindsay Kathleen; Johnson, Michelle Leigh; Svendsen, Erika S. 2022. Editorial: The COVID-19 pandemic's transformation of human relationships with nature at multiple scales. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Cheng, Helen ; Svendsen, Erika ; Kochnower, Dana ; Bunting-Howarth, Katherine ; Wapnitsky, Phoebe. 2021. Living with Water: Documenting lived experience and social-emotional impacts of chronic flooding for local adaptation planning. Cities and the Environment (CATE). 14: Article 4. 38p.
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; McMillen, Heather ; Svendsen, Erika ; Rodbell, Phillip. 2021. Best Practices for Hearing All Voices in Our Urban Forests. City Trees: Journal of the Society of Municipal Arborists
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; Johnson, Michelle ; Landau, Laura. 2021. Activating urban environments as social infrastructure through civic stewardship. Urban Geography
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Reynolds, Renae ; Marshall, Victoria. 2021. Material and social relations in a coastal community garden assemblage. Social & Cultural Geography
- Landau, Laura F.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Johnson, Michelle L. 2021. Building Adaptive Capacity Through Civic Environmental Stewardship: Responding to COVID-19 Alongside Compounding and Concurrent Crises. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Plitt, Sophie ; Johnson, Michelle L. 2021. Open for All: How Are Federal and Municipal Land Management Agencies Adapting to the COVID-19 Pandemic Alongside Increased Societal Recognition of Racial Injustice. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
- Garcia, Zachary ; Sachdeva, Sonya ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika. 2020. Translating spiritual experience into environmental stewardship at Jamaica Bay, New York City. In: Cocks, Michelle L.; Shackleton, Charlie M., eds. Urban Nature: Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing, and Bioculture. New York, NY: Routledge. 144-165. Chapter 8.
- Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2020. Conceptualizing, analyzing, and supporting stewardship: examining the role of civil society in environmental governance. Ecology and Society
- McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay ; Giardina, Christian ; Svendsen, Erika ; Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, Kekuhi ; ​Francisco, Kainana. 2020. Living in kinship within urban landscapes through equitable, multicultural, and collaborative stewardship in New York City. In: Cocks, Michelle L.; Shackleton, Charlie M., eds. Urban Nature: Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing, and Bioculture. New York, NY: Routledge. 219-240. Chapter 12.
- McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, Kekuhi ; Francisco, Kainana S.; Giardina, Christian P. 2020. Biocultural stewardship, Indigenous and local ecological knowledge, and the urban crucible. Ecology and Society
- Giardina, Christian ; Goldstein, Bruce Evan; Grove, Morgan ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; McMillen, Heather. 2019. A proposed multi-agency program for stewardship science. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 324-339.
- Hines, Sarah J.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika ; Maddox, David. 2019. Background. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 14-20.
- Hines, Sarah J.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika ; Maddox, David. 2019. Epilogue: Tracing the lines between storytelling, science, and recovery outcomes. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 340-343.
- Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; McMillen, Heather L. 2019. Mapping Urban Park Cultural Ecosystem Services: A Comparison of Twitter and Semi-Structured Interview Methods. Sustainability
- Johnson, Michelle L.; Locke, Dexter H.; Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Westphal, Lynne M.; Romolini, Michele ; Grove, J. Morgan. 2019. Context matters: influence of organizational, environmental, and social factors on civic environmental stewardship group intensity. Ecology and Society
- Johnson, Michelle L.; Novem Auyeung, D.S. ; Sonti, Nancy F.; Pregitzer, Clara C.; McMillen, Heather L.; Hallett, Richard ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Forgione, Helen M.; Kim, Mina ; Charlop-Powers, Sarah ; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Social-ecological research in urban natural areas: an emergent process for integration. Urban Ecosystems
- Landau, Laura ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Johnson, Michelle ; Svendsen, Erika ; Berman, Holly. 2019. STEW-MAP in the New York City region: survey results of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-189. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 69 p.
- Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2019. Reflections on two decades in the field of place-based environmental and community change; An interview with Rick Magder. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 116-129.
- Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2019. Restoring and growing the Twin Cities' community forests in times of change; An interview with Karen Zumach, Tree Trust, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. In: Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David, eds. Green readiness, response, and recovery: A collaborative synthesis. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-185. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 92-103.
- Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Silva, Philip. 2018. Why count trees? Volunteer motivations and experiences with tree monitoring in New York City. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry. 44(2): 59-72.
- Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika S. 2018. Why Garden? Personal and Abiding Motivations for Community Gardening in New York City. Society & Natural Resources
- Johnson, Michelle; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika. 2017. Why count trees: assessing volunteer motivations in participating in New York City's 2015 tree census. Queens, NY: New York City Urban Field Station; New York City Parks. 63 p. [white paper].
- McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2017. Co-creators of memory, metaphors for resilience, and mechanisms for recovery: flora in living memorials to 9/11. Journal of Ethnobiology
- McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2017. The power of living things: Living memorials as therapeutic landscapes. Medicine Anthropology Theory. 4(1):185-192.
- Auyeung, D.S. Novem; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Johnson, Michelle; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika. 2016. Reading the landscape: citywide social assessment of New York City parks and natural areas in 2013-2014. Social Assessment White Paper No. 2. New York, NY: New York Department of Parks and Recreation. 69 p.
- Boicourt, Kate; Pirani, Robert; Johnson, Michelle; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2016. Connecting with our waterways: an assessment of public access and stewardship in the New York - New Jersey Harbor Estuary. New York, NY: NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program; and Hudson River Foundation. 36 p.
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Johnson, Michelle L. 2016. A social assessment of urban parkland: Analyzing park use and meaning to inform management and resilience planning. Environmental Science & Policy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.01.014
- Grove, Morgan; Childers, Daniel L.; Galvin, Michael; Hines, Sarah J.; Munoz-Erickson, Tischa; Svendsen, Erika S. 2016. Linking science and decision making to promote an ecology for the city: practices and opportunities. Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. 2(9): e01239-.
- Metcalf, Sara S.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Knigge, LaDona ; Wang, Hua ; Palmer, Harvey D.; Northridge, Mary E. 2016. Urban Greening as a Social Movement. In: Gatrell, J.D.; et al., eds. Urban Sustainability: Policy and Praxis, Geotechnologies and the Environment. Springer International Publishing Switzerland: 233-248.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Fisher, Dana R.; Connolly, James J.T.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Locke, Dexter H.; Westphal, Lynne M.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc; Grove, Morgan; Romolini, Michele; Blahna, Dale J.; Wolf, Kathleen L. 2016. Stewardship mapping and assessment project: a framework for understanding community-based environmental stewardship. Gen. Tech. Rep. 156. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 134 p.
- Connolly, James J.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2015. Mixed methods analysis of urban environmental stewardship networks. In: Ruth, Matthias, ed. Handbook of research methods and applications in environmental studies. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing: 102-121. Chapter 5.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy F.; Baine, Gillian. 2015. Urban stewardship as a catalyst for recovery and change. In: Brandt, D.H.; Nordenson, C.S., eds. Waterproofing New York. Urban Research. 2: 104-111.
- Campbell, Lindsay K.; Monaco, Morgan; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Lu, Jacqueline; Newman, Andrew; Rae, Ruth A.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2014. Million TreesNYC: the integration of research and practice. New York, NY: New York City, Parks and Recreation. 43 p.
- Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Baine, Gillian. 2014. Reading the landscape, a reflection on method. PLOT. 3: 90-95.
- Connolly, James J.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2014. Networked governance and the management of ecosystem services: The case of urban environmental stewardship in New York City. Ecosystem Services. 10: 187-194.
- Locke, Dexter H.; King, Kristen L.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Small, Christopher; Sonti, Nancy F.; Fisher, Dana R.; Lu, Jacqueline W.T. 2014. Urban environmental stewardship and changes in vegetative cover and building footprint in New York City neighborhoods (2000-2010). Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 4(3): 250-262.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Baine, Gillian; Northridge, Mary E.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Metcalf, Sara S. 2014. Recognizing resilience. American Journal of Public Health. 104(4): 581-583.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2014. Community-based memorials to September 11, 2001: environmental stewardship as memory work. In: Tidball, Keith G.; Krasny, Marianne E., eds. Greening in the Red Zone: Disaster, resilience and community greening. New York, NY: Springer Dordrecht: 339-355. Chapter 25.
- Connolly, James J.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2013. Organizing urban ecosystem services through environmental stewardship governance in New York City. Landscape and Urban Planning. 109: 76-84.
- Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2013. From job training to green jobs: a case study for a young adult employment program centered on environmental restoration in New York City, USA. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 12: 287-295.
- Svendsen, Erika S. 2013. Storyline and design: how civic stewardship shapes urban design in New York City. Chapter 13. In: Pickett, S.T.A.; Cadenasso, M.L.; McGrath, B., eds. Resilience in ecology and urban design: linking theory and practice for sustainable cities. Vol. 3. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands: 269-287.
- Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika S. 2012. The organisational structure of urban environmental stewardship. Environmental Politics. 21(1): 26-48.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy ; Northridge, Jessica ; Stone, Edie ; Mees, Caroln. 2012. Introducing a longitudinal study of community gardeners and gardens in New York City. Cities and the Environment (CATE). 5(1): article 11.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Northridge, Mary E.; Metcalf, Sara S. 2012. Integrating grey and green infrastructure to improve the health and well-being of urban populations. Cities and the Environment (CATE) 5(1): article 3.
- Svendsen, Erika. 2011. Cultivating health and well-being through environmental stewardship. American Journal of Public Health. 101(11).
- Lu, Jacqueline W.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Greenfeld, Jennifer; Braden, Jessie; King, Kristen; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy. 2010. Biological, social, and urban design factors affecting young street tree mortality in New York City. Cities and the Environment. 3(1): 1-15.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2010. Living Memorials: Understanding the Social Meanings of Community-Based Memorials to September 11, 2001. Environment and Behavior. 42: 318-334.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Lu, Jacqueline W.T. 2010. MillionTreesNYC, green infrastructure and urban ecology symposium March 5-6, 2010. Cities and the Environment. 3(1): 1-2.
- Tidball, Keith G.; Krasny, Marianne E.; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay; Helphand, Kenneth. 2010. Stewardship, learning, and memory in disaster resilience. Environmental Education Research. 16(5-6): 591- 609.
- Lu, Jacqueline W.T.; Shane, Megan; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay; Fragola, Cristiana; Krasny, Marianne; Lovasl, Gina; Maddox, David; McDonnell, Simon; McPhearson, P. Timon; Montalto, Franco; Newman, Andrew; Pehek, Ellen; Rae, Ruth A.; Stedman, Richard; Tidball, Keith G.; Westphal, Lynne; Whitlow, Tom. 2009. MillionTreesNYC, Green infrastructure, and urban ecology: building a research agenda. MillionTreesNYC, Green infrastructure, and urban ecology: building a research agenda. Report from the workshop. New York, NY: [Publisher unknown]. 44 p.
- Svendsen, Erika. 2009. Cultivating resilience: urban stewardship as a means to improving health and well-being. In: Campbell, Lindsay; Wiesen, Anne, eds. Restorative commons: creating health and well-being through urban landscapes. Gen. Tech Rep. NRS-P-39. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 58-87.
- Svendsen, Erika s.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2008. Urban ecological stewardship: understanding the structure, function and network of community-based urban land management. Cities and the Environment. 1(1): 1-32.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Duong, Phu. 2007. Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials [DVD]. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-3. Newton Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. [DVD].
- Svendsen, E.; Marshall, V.; Ufer, M.F. 2006. Urban field guide: applying social forestry observation techniques to the east coast megalopolis. AD Journal. 75(6): 26-31.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2006. Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials. NRS-INF-1-06. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 49 p.
- Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2005. Living memorials project: year 1 social and site assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-333. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 123 p.
Other Publications
- Fisher, D.R., Svendsen, E.S., and Connolly, J. (2015). Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement: How planting trees strengthens the roots of democracy Routledge Press: Explorations in Environmental Studies Series, 24 February, 152 pgs
National Research Highlights
IITF and NRS each established a Charter for Urban Field Stations and Networks
Year: 2016
IITF and NRS officially established charters for Urban Research Stations in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia to develop and deliver knowledge that contributes to the understanding of urban social-ecological systems and the adaptation of practices that lead to sustainable, resilient, equitable, and healthy urban environments. The charters formalized long-standing field station investments.
Tree Planting Programs a Gateway to Strong Civic Engagement
Year: 2015
This study examined how tree planting projects can make an important difference to the social fabric of dense urban communities. Qualitative interview data show strong links between environmental stewardship and civic engagement. Research by a Forest Service scientist and her partners culminated in a book on the social importance of natural resource initiatives and how individual efforts to reshape communities serve to strengthen civic engagement.
Scientists Assess Social Meaning of Jamaica Bay Region Parkland
Year: 2014
The Jamaica Bay region of New York City is a focus of resiliency planning and adaptive management efforts. Working with natural resource managers and ecologists from the Natural Areas Conservancy and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, Forest Service social scientists developed a method to assess the use and social meaning of parkland in the region. These social data will be integrated with ecological assessment data to inform management strategies and practices citywide.
Forest Service Partnership with MillionTreesNYC
Year: 2013
The demand for a well-trained green-collar labor force will increase as many cities implement sustainability and green infrastructure plans. Additionally, many green jobs training programs are intended to provide pathways out of poverty for low-skilled workers. Forest Service scientists investigated young-adult graduates of green-jobs training programs in New York City and found not just positive environmental attitudes and behaviors but also increased self-confidence in young graduates.