The Climate Resilient Development Project
Announcing the Appointment of Dexter H. Locke, Ph.D., as Science Advisor to the Land Use Law Center
John R. Nolon, Distinguished Professor Emeritus
September 26, 2022
On March 17th, the Land Use Law Center announced its commitment to developing land use strategies that achieve climate resilient development. Over the summer, our students developed a Guide to Climate Resilient Development: Local Solutions to the Global Climate Crisis, which will soon be published on the Land Use Law Center website. The purpose of the Guide is to assist local governments in achieving Climate Resilient Development (CRD), the principal method of accomplishing equitable adaptation and mitigation, which was recently introduced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Sixth Assessment Report.
Haub Land Use Scholars have evaluated the definition of CRD, selected examples of existing local land use climate management strategies, and developed an evaluative methodology for conforming them to the components of CRD. These examples will be placed on the Center’s Gaining Ground Information Database and made available through outreach activities to municipalities throughout the country. An article about this Guide and CRD written by five Haub Land Use Scholars is forthcoming in the Environmental Law Institute’s Environmental Law Reporter.
This work made it clear to us that science plays a critical role in designing CRD strategies that are resilient and avoid maladaptation. To meet this need and sharpen the work of its students and scholars, we are pleased to welcome Dexter H. Locke, Ph.D. as our Science Advisor. This novel appointment enables us to properly evaluate CRD strategies, such as tree species selection in tree canopy expansion programs, which provide examples of the need of cross-disciplinary collaboration between science and law.
As a self-described Urban Ecologist, Dexter serves as a Research Social Scientist with the USDA Forest Service and conducts applied research alongside natural resource managers and policy-makers. He holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University, a Masters of Environmental Science from The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont. Dexter’s expertise in urban socio-ecological systems as applied to land management and policy will inform the work of students and scholars at the Land Use Law Center, strengthening our work with the support of sound science.
For More Information:
Website: https://law.pace.edu/landuse
Gaining Ground Database: https://appsrv.pace.edu/gainingground/
Instagram: @landuselaw, Twitter: @landuseLC
Links to more information about Dr. Locke: