Sustainability: Human Factors
An Ecosystem of Innovation
Effective technology already exists to shape a new energy economy, cultivate healthier communities, and protect vulnerable ecosystems. We are limited today not by innovation, but by human choices. The challenge is to figure out how we as a society can implement what is available more quickly, equitably, and at scale.
Through our school-wide initiative, USC Dornsife grapples with complex questions related to the human dimensions of sustainability — the economics, politics, and mindsets that continue to stand in the way of making critical progress during this short window of opportunity.
Human Factors in the News
USC study: Climate change graphics are important, so make them simple
Published in the journal Climatic Change, the study is USC’s second collaboration with the U.N. Foundation aimed at improving science communications.
Are bugs bugging humans or the other way around? Study reveals surprises
Researchers uncover factors in urban areas that affect diversity in insects and spiders. The study could help ensure the health of these crucial ecosystem contributors.
Where urban tree canopies and environmental justice meet
Leaders advocate ‘bridging divides and sharing solutions’ at Climate Forward conference
The annual Climate Forward conference featured former U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Val Demings, former White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.
USC Sea Grant leads efforts to assess impact of toxic pesticides in ocean
A recent discovery of nearly 800,000 pounds of the banned chemical near Santa Catalina Island sparks new research for an institution that has spent five decades helping Southern California manage its coasts.
Public Exchange launches climate and sustainability practice
To support a boom in climate action, USC Dornsife’s Public Exchange will provide expert research and project management services to government, industry, and nonprofit partners in the fast-growing clean technology and sustainability market.
Customized water pricing offers new strategy for long-term drought
To help western states facing long-term drought, a USC Dornsife economist and USC Viterbi engineer propose a new way to test higher water prices. It’s a conservation strategy that won’t hurt low-income users.
USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability
Providing leadership for the Sustainability: Human Factors initiative, the USC Wrigley Institute has expanded its mission to connect USC Dornsife’s natural science researchers more deeply with our academic strength across the social sciences and humanities. Students engage through a wide range of research and internship opportunities, as well as a residential college hosted at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island.
The Blue Economy
It doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. We can use ocean resources to spur economic growth and improve livelihoods without harming marine ecosystems. With longstanding strength in marine biology, Earth sciences, chemistry, and related fields, USC Dornsife is positioned to lead innovation focused on the blue economy.
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USC Sea Grant Program
Kelp Aquaculture for Sustainability
The Green Economy
USC’s environmental economists help society devise new “rules of the game” to spark green economic growth and adapt to the effects of climate change, while shining light on the vast opportunities to create new wealth, stable governments, and equitable communities.
Sustainable Cities
What will it take to make urban environments greener, more affordable, more equitable, and healthier for everyone? At USC, spatial scientists, sociologists, urban planners, and policy experts help decision makers navigate competing tensions to shape a future where growing urban communities can thrive in an ecologically meaningful way.
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Spatial Sciences Institute
Middle East Studies
Environmental Justice and Climate Equity
Success in building a sustainable society requires that all people can realize their highest potential without interruption by environmental racism or inequity. Experts at USC Dornsife explore new ways to reduce the inequitable distribution of environmental damages on underserved communities, helping to ensure that everyone thrives together.
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Equity Research Institute
Precarious Ecologies
Accelerating Policy
Sustainability issues do not appear in shades of red or blue. As a national leader in practical politics and public policy, USC Dornsife provides an intellectual environment in which policymakers, business leaders, and academic researchers can work together to break through political roadblocks that stall the adoption of sustainability solutions.
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Climate Forward
Security and Political Economy Lab (SPEC)
USC Wrigley Institute Center for Social Transformation
Public Exchange
To meet the growing demand for research related to climate resilience and “green” initiatives, Public Exchange recently launched a climate and sustainability practice that helps policymakers and organizations access academic expertise needed to move the needle.
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USC Urban Trees Initiative
Climate Change Terminology
Climate Forward
The signature USC Dornsife Climate Forward conference is an annual event that explores politically realistic solutions to address the challenges associated with a changing climate. The 2023 conference brings together academics, policymakers, and journalists for two panel conversations built around the theme of “Finding Common Ground.”
Equity Research Institute
Under the leadership of Distinguished Professor Manuel Pastor, ERI uses data analysis to power social change with an emphasis on the impacts of climate change, air pollution, and urban heat zones on communities of color. Among ERI’s projects, researchers use geographic information systems to visualize and analyze demographic and economic shifts that inform state policy and “Green Zone” initiatives.
The West On Fire
At the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, a team led by Professor William Deverell places western wildfire in historical context and broadens public awareness of the region’s relationship with fire. Pulling together ecologists, Indigenous fire practitioners, U.S. Forest Service personnel, Earth scientists, economists, political scientists, journalists, and many others, The West on Fire initiative is a timely opportunity to develop new ways of thinking about fire in the region.
Dornsife Dialogues: Engineering Earth’s Future
The Dornsife Dialogues online series and podcast brings together leading scholars and distinguished alumni from USC to share research-based findings and fresh insight on timely topics — including several events focused on the human factors of sustainability.
Recent Sustainability Events
Climate Solutions: Engineering Earth’s Future
As climate change intensifies across the planet, attention is turning toward technologies that offer novel ways to decarbonize our economy and our atmosphere. Yet, these solutions are not without their critics, who warn about unforeseen environmental and social repercussions.
How to Sustainably Cool a Warming World
As Earth’s temperature rises due to the effects of climate change, cooling the air in our lived environments is increasingly crucial. So, how do we meet the growing demand for cooling in a manner that is sustainable, energy-efficient, and accessible to all?
Nuclear Energy: Should it Power Our Cities?
A growing number of political leaders and environmentalists support a renewed investment in nuclear power. Should it be a part of the clean energy strategy?
L.A.’s Troubled History With Water
What lessons can we learn from more than 100 years ago, when L.A.’s water was an even more hotly contested commodity than it is today?
Going Remote: Can the Flexible Work Economy Improve Lives and Cities?
Learn how remote work is likely to affect workers’ quality of life, the profitability of firms, and the economic geography of cities and suburbs.
The West Burns: The Past, Present, and Future of the American West
Understand the history of fire in the West, including Indigenous fire practices and fire’s many environmental legacies, which is crucial to determining a more sustainable path forward.