In a new publication, DCDC authors Kelli L. Larson, Dave D. White, Patricia Gober and Amber Wutich examine the complexities, uncertainties, and decision processes for water sustainability and urban adaptation to climate change in the Phoenix, Arizona region in Decision-Making under Uncertainty for Water Sustainability and Urban Climate Change Adaptation.

Complexities and uncertainties surrounding urbanization and climate change complicate water resource sustainability. Although research has examined various aspects of complex water systems, including uncertainties, relatively few attempts have been made to synthesize research findings in particular contexts.

The authors integrate over a decade of research conducted by Arizona State University’s Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC). DCDC is a boundary organization that conducts research in collaboration with policy makers, with the goal of informing decision-making under uncertainty.

Their results highlight: the counterintuitive, non-linear, and competing relationships in human–environment dynamics; the myriad uncertainties in climatic, scientific, political, and other domains of knowledge and practice; and, the social learning that has occurred across science and policy spheres.

Finally, they reflect on how our interdisciplinary research and boundary organization has evolved over time to enhance adaptive and sustainable governance in the face of complex system dynamics.

Read the entire article at Sustainability.

Citation: Larson, K.L.; White, D.D.; Gober, P.; Wutich, A. Decision-Making under Uncertainty for Water Sustainability and Urban Climate Change Adaptation. Sustainability 2015, 7, 14761-14784.

The Authors

• Kelli L. Larson, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University
• Dave D. White, School of Community Resources and Development, Arizona State University
• Patricia Gober, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University
• Amber Wutich, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University