Urban stormwater management is an issue that has challenged researchers, urban planners, and water management organizations due to its complex and multifaceted nature. With my research, I plan to uncover some of the nuances behind urban planning which might be changed to benefit urban communities. Within urban settings traditional turfgrass lawns make up a significant portion of greenspace which has an impact on runoff and flood frequency in those areas. I am taking part in an ongoing project focused on understanding how traditional turfgrass lawns might be replaced with alternatives more conducive to reducing flood frequency within urban settings.

Additionally, I will be exploring the social component of lawn installation and cultivation by integrating ethnographic interviewing as well as participant observation into my methods. In interviewing and participating with homeowners, I hope to understand how their thoughts and mentalities towards lawn ownership and aesthetic might be informing their lawn management decisions and I expect that some of these mentalities will be shared by other homeowners in the surrounding areas.

With approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), we will be moving forward with outreach and interviewing of local homeowners to understand their thoughts and perceptions driving their lawn maintenance practices. I will be working with one lucky intern to design outreach materials, help me conduct interviews by taking notes, and assisting me with designing a greenhouse experiment to test different lawn alternatives impact on water infiltration rates, retention, and detention.