Specialization: Land Use and Environmental Planning
Yuhua Wang
yuhuaw@ad.unc.edu
What got you interested in planning?
I’m interested in how to solve the problems that occur in city, making city a happy place to live is a wonderful job.
What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on?
I do like how to predict the land use through some technique methods, combining urban planning with some great logic.
What future goals do you have for your specialization?
I want to become a teacher in land use and environmental planning, doing some research while teach more students to help design the city.
Affiliations:
Christopher Samoray
csamoray@email.unc.edu
Chris is a doctoral student specializing in land use and environmental planning. His research interests relate to issues at the coast, including sea level rise, flooding, and storm surge. Currently, he’s working on a project studying floodplain development around the country.
Chris has a background in marine biology and science communication, having published with outlets such as Science News and Mongabay.com and worked as a science writer at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Before starting at UNC DCRP, Chris completed his master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Maryland, where he studied nature-based design solutions for sea level rise at Hains Point in Washington, D.C.
Affiliations:
Anna Schwab
Lecturer
akschwab@email.unc.edu
Anna K. Schwab serves as Program Manager in the Center for the Study of Natural Hazards Resilience, located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which houses the DHS Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence. The Coastal Resilience Center focuses on conducting research associated with natural hazards and disasters and translating the findings to practice by working collaboratively with diverse partners throughout North Carolina, around the nation, and internationally. In her role as Program Manager, Schwab coordinates the research, publication and outreach projects, acts as liaison among participating principal investigators, and facilitates the ongoing engagement and public service initiatives.
Affiliations: Coastal Resilience Center
Amanda Ullman
anu@unc.edu
Specialization: Just Energy Transitions
What got you interested in planning?
Some of my favorite courses during my Master of Environmental Management degree dealt with sustainable transportation and international energy access. During a trip to Geneva, in between my first and second year of my masters program, I visited the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and was really fascinated by discussions of the equity analysis necessary for transportation and energy systems development in emerging economies. The conversation made me realize how much more I wanted to explore these issues of equity and sustainability in energy systems planning!
What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on?
I developed a policy menu aimed to assist federal policy makers in support sustainability at U.S. ports and achieve decarbonization of the shipping industry. A large portion of the port sought to educate policymakers on the potential for green hydrogen as a foundation for this decarbonization and suggest policies and R&D goals to develop economies of scale for hydrogen-based fuels.
What future goals do you have for your specialization?
I hope to more greatly understand community priorities in energy systems planning, particularly in the context of communities economically dependent on fossil fuel extraction. It is my hope to conduct this research through comparative regional analysis, particularly under the lenses of environmental sustainability, equity, and economic development.
Affiliations: