UB sociologist contributes to novel framework for developing environmental policy

A UB sociologist is part of an expert team that has developed a new, more flexible approach for addressing environmental change in urban areas. The paper, published in the journal Nature Cities, introduces the RAFT (reversibility, adaptability, flexibility and tailoring) framework to guide decision-making in the face of social and environmental urban complexity.

“There’s so much we don’t know about our relationship with the environment,” says Jordan Fox, associate professor of sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, who along with Patrick Trent Greiner, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Washington, co-authored the study led by Daniel Shtob, assistant professor of sustainability and health at Michigan Technological University.

“It’s time to move away from developing inflexible solutions that work in the short term in favor of incorporating more flexible and adaptable measures into environmental policies,” Fox adds.

That’s where RAFT comes in.

RAFT relies on existing research on the environment, but it also acknowledges that policymakers and researchers are often relying on incomplete and imperfect information about the future. Managing the constantly evolving risks posed by wildfires, floods and climate change can’t depend on once-functional models that have become outdated or obsolete. That’s why a full understanding of the environment, which is intertwined with urban ecosystems and political dynamics, can’t simply end with a policy decision, according to Fox.

“Cities are complex human creations and there are no perfect solutions,” he says. “We must be prepared for the policy revisions that will accompany inevitably changing circumstances, whether they be political circumstances or changing environmental concerns.”

Fox uses a Rust Belt city, like Buffalo, as an example.

“We do not know exactly how buried waste from the city’s industrial past will interact with our future. We know a lot, but there will be surprises,” he says. “Instead of wrongly assuming we have complete information, we need to develop urban policy with built-in contingency plans that are easily modifiable as new toxic conditions become apparent.”

RAFT’s modular elements are designed for such modification, adaptable in ways that will help avoid entrenched actions that down the road become politically or technically unworkable, making existing problems even worse.

“Flexibility and constant assessment are critical,” says Fox. “As new concerns arise and the environment shifts in unexpected ways, RAFT can serve as an instrument for urban planners to respond to and adapt toward more effective problem solving.”

RAFT is meant to supplement existing policy and planning frameworks and provides policymakers with a toolkit for contending with emergent risks and future uncertainties.

“We need to have the humility to admit that we are not in control of our environmental relationships,” says Fox. “Once we do, we can better plan for just how much we do not know.”