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Socioeconomic and Environmental Impact Analysis

Ongoing Project

Multi-scale analysis of smart monitoring and community-specific assessment of green stormwater infrastructure hydrologic, energy, and nutrient performance

❋ Role: Co-Principal Investigator
❋ Project Period: 3/1/2024 -2/28/2027
❋ Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
❋ Engine: Great Lakes ReNEW Engine 
Subaward from Current Innovation NFP
Great Lakes ReNEW (Recovery of Energy, Nutrients, Critical Elements, and Water) is a NSF-supported Regional Innovation Engine dedicated to creating a blue circular economy in the Great Lakes region.

To find about more about the Great Lakes ReNEW Engine, visit here.
❋ Brief description: Exploring community perspectives and connecting desktop modeling with field planning of rain gardens (in collaboration with UIUC Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Highlights

  • Quantifies the economic efficiency (i.e., cost) and environmental impact (i.e., emissions) of various program scenarios by incorporating the characteristics of surplus food pick-up options, fleet, urban built environment, and donor program participation rates

  • Quantitative assessments of the benefits and feasibility of using a portion of public parks for community composting 

  • In a cause-impact-response-effect framework, develops a causal model of dust storm occurrences and quantitative assessment of control programs and investments

  • First formal regional economic impact analysis of dust storms in China

Selected Publications

Junjun Zheng and Ning Ai. 2021. Evaluating the Sustainability of Urban Food Recovery Programs: An Economic and Environmental Assessment in Chicago. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101683

Zhan Guo, Ning Ai, and Karen R. Polenske. 2008. “Evaluating Environmental and Economic Benefits of Yellow Dust Storm-Related Policies in North China.” The International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 15(5): 457-470. https://doi.org/10.3843/SusDev.15.5:7

Ning Ai and Karen R. Polenske. 2008. “Socioeconomic Impact Analysis of Yellow-Dust Storms: An Approach and Case Study for Beijing.” Economic Systems Research, 20(2): 187-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/09535310802075364

Shantanu Pai, Ning Ai, and Junjun Zheng. 2019. “Decentralized Community Composting Feasibility Analysis for Residential Food Waste: A Chicago Case Study.” Sustainable Cities and Society. Volume 50: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101683