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Dr. Timon McPhearson

Urban Community Ecologist | PhD, Rutgers University

Expertise
urban ecology, resilience, social-ecological systems

External site: urbansystemslab.com | Profile (pdf)

Twitter: ‎@timonmcphearson

Dr. McPhearson's research examines cities as ecosystems to study social, ecological, and technical interactions to understand urban system dynamics. He utilizes both empirical (e.g. Big Data, field experiments) and theoretical approaches (social-ecological systems and resilience theory) with a focus on the role of urban green infrastructure for advancing equity, climate change resilience, and urban sustainability.

Current Research

Comparative urban ecology

Cities are unique, but many also have similar attributes, patterns, and ecological processes. By comparing research on the ecology in and of cities across the US, Europe, and South America, this research seeks to advance a generalized understanding of the similarities and differences among cities that drive major urban social and ecological patterns. By examining the social, ecological, and technical-infrastructural system (SETS) interactions using existing "big data" across a network of cities, researchers are advancing urban ecology as an urban systems science.

Urban ecosystem services

Ecosystems in cities provide a host of benefits to urban residents ranging from cooling hot cities (especially in summer) through evapotranspiration and shading, stormwater absorption, carbon storage, recreation, and providing habitat for urban adapted species. However, the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem function, and such "ecosystem services" have not been well studied in urban areas. This research examines relationships between ecosystem function and services to better understand the spatial variation in public access to these services and how improving our ecological knowledge can advance urban planning and management of urban natural areas.

Ecosystem-based climate adaptation and urban resilience

Cities are hotspots for impacts of climate change. Ecosystems in cities and urban regions offer a suite of potential solutions for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and urban resilience building. Through cellular automata scenario modeling, machine learning, and "big data" researchers are examining how urban ecosystems can provide novel opportunities for reducing risk and vulnerability to heat and flooding for the most vulnerable urban residents. Additionally, by linking urban biodiversity data with functional traits this work is advancing new urban ecological resilience indicators for assessing current levels of ecosystem resilience.

Urban forest dynamics

Through multi-year ecological experiments in urban forests, this research examines the short- and long-term impacts of urban tree planting and management strategy on biodiversity, ecosystem structure, and functioning. Research includes examining soil nutrients, heavy metals, and carbon dynamics over time together with extensive vegetation monitoring to evaluate best management strategies for maximizing carbon uptake and storage, invasive species control, and forest canopy closure in complex urban biological systems.

Ortiz, L, C Braneon, R Horton, D Bader, P Orton, , B Rosenzweig, et al. 2024. “NPCC4: Tail Risk, Climate Drivers of Extreme Heat, and New Methods for Extreme Event Projections”. ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. doi:10.1111/nyas.15180.
Pickett, Steward T. A., AbdouMaliq T. Simone, Pippin Anderson, Ayyoob Sharifi, Aliyu Barau, Fushcia-Ann Hoover, Daniel L. Childers, et al. 2024. “The Relational Shift in Urban Ecology: From Place and Structures to Multiple Modes of Coproduction for Positive Urban Futures”. Ambio 53 (6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 845-70. doi:10.1007/s13280-024-02001-y.
Andersson, Erik, Timon McPhearson, and Steward T. A. Pickett. 2024. “From Urban Ecology to Urban Enquiry: How to Build Cumulative and Context-Sensitive Understandings”. Ambio 53 (6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 813-25. doi:10.1007/s13280-023-01959-5.
Frantzeskaki, Niki, Daniel L. Childers, Steward T. A. Pickett, Fushcia-Ann Hoover, Pippin Anderson, Aliyu Barau, Joshua R. Ginsberg, et al. 2024. “A Transformative Shift in Urban Ecology Toward a More Active and Relevant Future for the Field and for Cities”. Ambio 53 (6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 871-89. doi:10.1007/s13280-024-01992-y.
Pickett, Steward T. A., Niki Frantzeskaki, Erik Andersson, Aliyu Salisu Barau, Daniel L. Childers, Fushcia-Ann Hoover, Ariel E. Lugo, et al. 2024. “Shifting Forward: Urban Ecology in Perspective”. Ambio 53 (6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 890-97. doi:10.1007/s13280-024-02007-6.
Braneon, Christian, Luis Ortiz, Daniel Bader, Naresh Devineni, Philip Orton, Bernice Rosenzweig, Timon McPhearson, et al. 2024. “NPCC4: New York City Climate Risk Information 2022—observations and Projections”. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Wiley. doi:10.1111/nyas.15116.
Grilo, Filipa, Timon McPhearson, Alice Nunes, Cristiana Aleixo, Margarida Santos-Reis, and Cristina Branquinho. 2024. “Where the Not-so-Wild Things Are in Cities? The Influence of Social-Ecological Factors in Urban Trees at Multiple Scales”. Science of The Total Environment 929. Elsevier BV: 172552. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172552.
Balk, D, Timon McPhearson, Elizabeth M. Cook, K Knowlton, N Maher, P Marcotullio, T Matte, et al. 2024. “NPCC4: Concepts and Tools for Envisioning New York City’s Futures”. ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. doi:10.1111/nyas.15121.
Rosenzweig, B, FA Montalto, P Orton, J Kaatz, N Maher, J Kleyman, ZY Chen, et al. 2024. “NPCC4: Climate Change and New York City’s Flood Risk”. ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. doi:10.1111/nyas.15175.
Towers, J, R Leichenko, C Braneon, D Balk, L Yoon, G Wagner, J Ventrella, et al. 2024. “NPCC4: Climate Risk and Equity-Advancing Knowledge Toward a Sustainable Future | Conclusions”. ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. doi:10.1111/nyas.15150.
Wang, J, Timon McPhearson, WQ Zhou, EM Cook, P Herreros-Cantis, and J Liu. (2024) 2023. “Comparing Relationships Between Urban Heat Exposure, Ecological Structure, and Socio-Economic Patterns in Beijing and New York City”. LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 235. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104750.
Hoover, FA, S Meerow, E Coleman, Z Grabowski, and Timon McPhearson. (2024) 2023. “Why Go Green? Comparing Rationales and Planning Criteria for Green Infrastructure in US City Plans”. LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 237. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104781.
Grabowski, Zbigniew J., Timon McPhearson, and Steward T. A. Pickett. 2023. “Transforming US Urban Green Infrastructure Planning to Address Equity”. Landscape and Urban Planning 229. Elsevier BV: 104591. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104591.
Ghermandi, A, J Langemeyer, D Van Berkel, F Calcagni, Y Depietri, LE Vigl, N Fox, et al. 2023. “Social Media Data for Environmental Sustainability: A Critical Review of Opportunities, Threats, and Ethical Use”. ONE EARTH 6 (3): 236-50. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2023.02.008.
Grabowski, Zbigniew J., Timon McPhearson, Marissa Matsler, Peter M. Groffman, and Steward T. A. Pickett. 2022. “What Is Green Infrastructure? A Study of Definitions in US City Planning”. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Wiley. doi:10.1002/fee.2445.
Gilbert, Melissa R, Hallie Eakin, and Timon McPhearson. 2022. “The Role of Infrastructure in Societal Transformations”. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 57. Elsevier BV: 101207. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101207.
Krueger, Elisabeth H, Timon McPhearson, and Simon A Levin. 2022. “Integrated Assessment of Urban Water Supply Security and Resilience: Towards a Streamlined Approach”. Environmental Research Letters 17 (7). IOP Publishing: 075006. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac78f4.
McPhearson, Timon, Elizabeth M. Cook, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Chingwen Cheng, Nancy B. Grimm, Erik Andersson, Olga Barbosa, et al. 2022. “A Social-Ecological-Technological Systems Framework for Urban Ecosystem Services”. One Earth 5 (5). Elsevier BV: 505-18. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.007.
Mejia, GA, Peter M. Groffman, AE Downey, Elizabeth M. Cook, S Sritrairat, R Karty, MI Palmer, and Timon McPhearson. 2022. “Nitrogen Cycling and Urban Afforestation Success in New York City”. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS. doi:10.1002/eap.2535.
Branny, Artur, Maja Steen Møller, Silviya Korpilo, Timon McPhearson, Natalie Gulsrud, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Christopher M Raymond, and Erik Andersson. 2022. “Smarter Greener Cities through a Social-Ecological-Technological Systems Approach”. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 55. Elsevier BV: 101168. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2022.101168.