Current Research

My pimary area of research is to better understand the role of individuals, civic groups and networked alliances within the context of disturbance and recovery.  My research helps identify the key drivers and levers that help to shape, create and sustain new forms of environmental governance. 


One of my most popular research projects is STEW-MAP, the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project.  The objective of STEW-MAP is to utilize social science methods to assess the social and spatial interactions among groups working to care for their environment.  STEW-MAP techniques display groups across a landscape or region, depicting social networks, spatial gaps and overlaps, and providing partnership data in order to strengthen the shared stewardship of public and private lands. STEW-MAP captures information about environmental stewardship through (1) inventory: administering an OMB-approved organizational survey; (2) spatial analysis: geospatial mapping of stakeholder groups; and (3) social network analysis: studying relationships among civic, private, and governmental organizations.  https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/STEW-MAP/

STEW-MAP is just one part of my larger research area which asks how environmental stewardship can play a role in recovery and restoration in light acute and chronic social ecolgoical disturbance? Natural resource stewardship includes many unique forms of caring for the environment and has many benefits, from the physical, to the communal, and the personal.  Large-scale social-ecological disturbances and disasters are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon. These events often require large-scale coordinated emergency response and recovery efforts; however, they also cause consideration of how to create more resilient and just communities. My current work focuses on natural resource stewardship as an investment in creating communities that are better able to prepare for, respond to, and recover from all forms of stressors.  See here for an on-line and assessible resource: Green Readiness, Response and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis https://www.thenatureofcities.com/grrr-book/.

Currently, I am working on research related to COVID-19 and how natural resrource mangers on our National Forests, State lands and City parks are adapting to distrubance through partnerships and civic engagment.   This work will be published and available in 2021. 

 

 

Research Interests

I am interested in amplifying the relationship between environmental governance, social ecological vulnerabilities and equitable social change. 

Why This Research is Important

Understanding the reciprocity that exists between humans and the non-human world is essential not only to a healthy environment but to a vibrant, resilient and humane world.  

Education

• Columbia University , Ph.D. Urban Planning 2010
• Yale University, M.E.S. Forestry & Environmental Studies 1993
• Allegheny College, B.A. Political Science 1990

Professional Experience

Professional Organizations

• New York City Urban Field Staton, Team Leader (2013 - Current)
  http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/nyc/
• The Nature of Cities, Writer (2013 - Current)
  http://www.thenatureofcities.com/

Awards & Recognition

Featured Publications & Products

• Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Novem Auyeung, D.S. . 2020. Fear and fascination: Use and perceptions of New York City s forests, wetlands, and landscaped park areas.
• Jasny, Lorien ; Johnson, Michelle ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; Redmond, Josh . 2019. Working together: the roles of geographic proximity, homophilic organizational characteristics, and neighborhood context in civic stewardship collaboration networks in Philadelphia and New York City.
• McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Weighing values and risks of beloved invasive species: The case of the survivor tree and conflict management in urban green infrastructure.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; McMillen, Heather ; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. The Written Park: Reading Multiple Urban Park Subjectivities Through Signage, Writing, and Graffiti.
• McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika . 2019. Recognizing urban environmental stewardship practices as indicators of social resilience: The case of living memorials.
• Enqvist, Johan P.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Stedman, Richard C.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Place meanings on the urban waterfront: a typology of stewardships.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Hines, Sarah J.; Maddox, David , eds. 2019. Green Readiness, Response, and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; McMillen, Heather L. 2016. Stories, shrines, and symbols: Recognizing psycho-social-spiritual benefits of urban parks and natural areas.
• McMillen, Heather; Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika; Reynolds, Renae. 2016. Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Roman, Lara A. 2016. Knowledge Co-production at the Research-Practice Interface: Embedded Case Studies from Urban Forestry.

Publications

• McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, Kekuhi ; Francisco, Kainana S.; Giardina, Christian P. 2020. Biocultural stewardship, Indigenous and local ecological knowledge, and the urban crucible.
• Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2020. Conceptualizing, analyzing, and supporting stewardship: examining the role of civil society in environmental governance.
• McMillen, Heather ; Campbell, Lindsay ; Giardina, Christian ; Svendsen, Erika ; Kealiikanakaoleohaililani, Kekuhi ; ​Francisco, Kainana . 2020. Living in kinship within urban landscapes through equitable, multicultural, and collaborative stewardship in New York City.
• Garcia, Zachary ; Sachdeva, Sonya ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika . 2020. Translating spiritual experience into environmental stewardship at Jamaica Bay, New York City.
• Giardina, Christian ; Goldstein, Bruce Evan; Grove, Morgan ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika ; McMillen, Heather . 2019. A proposed multi-agency program for stewardship science.
• Hines, Sarah J.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika ; Maddox, David . 2019. Background.
• Johnson, Michelle L.; Locke, Dexter H.; Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Westphal, Lynne M.; Romolini, Michele ; Grove, J. Morgan. 2019. Context matters: influence of organizational, environmental, and social factors on civic environmental stewardship group intensity.
• Hines, Sarah J.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika ; Maddox, David . 2019. Epilogue: Tracing the lines between storytelling, science, and recovery outcomes.
• Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; McMillen, Heather L. 2019. Mapping Urban Park Cultural Ecosystem Services: A Comparison of Twitter and Semi-Structured Interview Methods.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Reynolds, Renae ; Marshall, Victoria . 2019. Material and social relations in a coastal community garden assemblage.
• Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2019. Reflections on two decades in the field of place-based environmental and community change; An interview with Rick Magder.
• Svendsen, Erika ; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2019. Restoring and growing the Twin Cities' community forests in times of change; An interview with Karen Zumach, Tree Trust, St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
• Landau, Laura ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Johnson, Michelle ; Svendsen, Erika ; Berman, Holly . 2019. STEW-MAP in the New York City region: survey results of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project.
• Johnson, Michelle L.; Novem Auyeung, D.S. ; Sonti, Nancy F.; Pregitzer, Clara C.; McMillen, Heather L.; Hallett, Richard ; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Forgione, Helen M.; Kim, Mina ; Charlop-Powers, Sarah ; Svendsen, Erika S. 2019. Social-ecological research in urban natural areas: an emergent process for integration.
• Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika S. 2018. Why Garden Personal and Abiding Motivations for Community Gardening in New York City.
• Johnson, Michelle L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Silva, Philip. 2018. Why count trees Volunteer motivations and experiences with tree monitoring in New York City.
• McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2017. Co-creators of memory, metaphors for resilience, and mechanisms for recovery: flora in living memorials to 9/11.
• McMillen, Heather L.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2017. The power of living things: Living memorials as therapeutic landscapes.
• Johnson, Michelle; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika. 2017. Why count trees: assessing volunteer motivations in participating in New York City's 2015 tree census.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Johnson, Michelle L. 2016. A social assessment of urban parkland: Analyzing park use and meaning to inform management and resilience planning.
• Boicourt, Kate; Pirani, Robert; Johnson, Michelle; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2016. Connecting with our waterways: an assessment of public access and stewardship in the New York - New Jersey Harbor Estuary.
• Grove, Morgan; Childers, Daniel L.; Galvin, Michael; Hines, Sarah J.; Munoz-Erickson, Tischa; Svendsen, Erika S. 2016. Linking science and decision making to promote an ecology for the city: practices and opportunities.
• Auyeung, D.S. Novem; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Johnson, Michelle; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Svendsen, Erika. 2016. Reading the landscape: citywide social assessment of New York City parks and natural areas in 2013-2014.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Fisher, Dana R.; Connolly, James J.T.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Locke, Dexter H.; Westphal, Lynne M.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc; Grove, Morgan; Romolini, Michele; Blahna, Dale J.; Wolf, Kathleen L. 2016. Stewardship mapping and assessment project: a framework for understanding community-based environmental stewardship.
• Connolly, James J.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2015. Mixed methods analysis of urban environmental stewardship networks.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Sonti, Nancy F.; Baine, Gillian. 2015. Urban stewardship as a catalyst for recovery and change.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2014. Community-based memorials to September 11, 2001: environmental stewardship as memory work.
• Campbell, Lindsay K.; Monaco, Morgan; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Lu, Jacqueline; Newman, Andrew; Rae, Ruth A.; Svendsen, Erika S. 2014. Million TreesNYC: the integration of research and practice.
• Connolly, James J.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2014. Networked governance and the management of ecosystem services: The case of urban environmental stewardship in New York City.
• Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Baine, Gillian. 2014. Reading the landscape, a reflection on method.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Baine, Gillian; Northridge, Mary E.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Metcalf, Sara S. 2014. Recognizing resilience.
• Locke, Dexter H.; King, Kristen L.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Small, Christopher; Sonti, Nancy F.; Fisher, Dana R.; Lu, Jacqueline W.T. 2014. Urban environmental stewardship and changes in vegetative cover and building footprint in New York City neighborhoods (2000-2010).
• Falxa-Raymond, Nancy; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2013. From job training to green jobs: a case study for a young adult employment program centered on environmental restoration in New York City, USA.
• Connolly, James J.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2013. Organizing urban ecosystem services through environmental stewardship governance in New York City.
• Svendsen, Erika S. 2013. Storyline and design: how civic stewardship shapes urban design in New York City.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Northridge, Mary E.; Metcalf, Sara S. 2012. Integrating grey and green infrastructure to improve the health and well-being of urban populations.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy ; Northridge, Jessica ; Stone, Edie ; Mees, Caroln . 2012. Introducing a longitudinal study of community gardeners and gardens in New York City.
• Fisher, Dana R.; Campbell, Lindsay; Svendsen, Erika S. 2012. The organisational structure of urban environmental stewardship.
• Svendsen, Erika. 2011. Cultivating health and well-being through environmental stewardship.
• Lu, Jacqueline W.T.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Greenfeld, Jennifer; Braden, Jessie; King, Kristen; Falxa-Raymond, Nancy. 2010. Biological, social, and urban design factors affecting young street tree mortality in New York City.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2010. Living Memorials: Understanding the Social Meanings of Community-Based Memorials to September 11, 2001.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Lu, Jacqueline W.T. 2010. MillionTreesNYC, green infrastructure and urban ecology symposium March 5-6, 2010.
• Tidball, Keith G.; Krasny, Marianne E.; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay; Helphand, Kenneth. 2010. Stewardship, learning, and memory in disaster resilience.
• Svendsen, Erika. 2009. Cultivating resilience: urban stewardship as a means to improving health and well-being.
• Lu, Jacqueline W.T.; Shane, Megan; Svendsen, Erika; Campbell, Lindsay; Fragola, Cristiana; Krasny, Marianne; Lovasl, Gina; Maddox, David; McDonnell, Simon; McPhearson, P. Timon; Montalto, Franco; Newman, Andrew; Pehek, Ellen; Rae, Ruth A.; Stedman, Richard; Tidball, Keith G.; Westphal, Lynne; Whitlow, Tom. 2009. MillionTreesNYC, Green infrastructure, and urban ecology: building a research agenda.
• Svendsen, Erika s.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2008. Urban ecological stewardship: understanding the structure, function and network of community-based urban land management.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K.; Duong, Phu. 2007. Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials DVD.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2006. Land-markings: 12 Journeys through 9/11 Living Memorials.
• Svendsen, E.; Marshall, V.; Ufer, M.F. 2006. Urban field guide: applying social forestry observation techniques to the east coast megalopolis.
• Svendsen, Erika S.; Campbell, Lindsay K. 2005. Living memorials project: year 1 social and site assessment.

Citations of non US Forest Service Publications

• Fisher, D.R., Svendsen, E.S., and Connolly, J. (2015). Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement: How planting trees strengthens the roots of democracy Routledge Press: Explorations in Environmental Studies Series, 24 February, 152 pgs

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
NRS-2013-065	Forest Service Partnership with MillionTreesNYC The demand for a well-trained green-collar labor force will increase as many cities implement sustainability and green infrastructure plans. Add ...	2013
NRS-2016-112	IITF and NRS each established a Charter for Urban Field Stations and Networks IITF and NRS officially established charters for Urban Research Stations in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, and Phi ...	2016
NRS-2014-062	Scientists Assess Social Meaning of Jamaica Bay Region Parkland The Jamaica Bay region of New York City is a focus of resiliency planning and adaptive management efforts. Working with natural resource manager ...	2014
NRS-2015-121	Tree Planting Programs a Gateway to Strong Civic Engagement This study examined how tree planting projects can make an important difference to the social fabric of dense urban communities. Qualitative int ...	2015