Profile

Vivek Shandas

Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning
Research Associate, Center for Urban Studies

Planning, Policy Analysis, Regional Science

Ph.D., University of Washington; M.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; B.S., University of California at Santa Cruz 

Email: vshandas@pdx.edu
Phone: (503) 725-5222
Office: Urban Center 370L

Professional Biography

Dr. Shandas, who joined Portland State University in 2005, is interested in how urban development and policy affect urban ecosystems.  As a Research Associate with the Center for Urban Studies, Dr. Shandas is working on a number of projects related to water, climate, vegetation, health and related policy effects in the urban environment.  In his capacity as an Associate Professor, he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in geographic information systems (GIS), environmental planning and policy, and global cities.  Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Shandas was with the New York Governor’s Office, overseeing planning, policies, and budgets related to health and environmental affairs. He has also served as an elementary school teacher and curriculum developer in Oregon and California.

Research

Dr. Shandas describes his research as interdisciplinary and problem-based, with applications on local, national, and global scales.  He believes that successful research engages participants from diverse disciplines and practitioners early in the design, and a need to mix epistemological approaches. This philosophy is embodied in several projects, most notably, as a designer of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, and aims to train a cadre of doctoral students capable of working across disciplinary boundaries, with practitioners, and on the field of ecosystem services. Another notable project is Dr. Shandas’ research on the integration of social and ecological dimensions of stormwater management in urban areas of the Northwest, including collaborative projects with the City of Portland, and Vancouver.

Ecosystem Services quantify the value of resources and amenities provided by nature, to ask such questions as what is the value of clean urban air, watersheds, or storm water?  Answers to these questions can help to determine the economic impact of climate change on water resources or the impact of neighborhood design on resource demand.  Additionally, different communities – for example, Portland and Phoenix – can be compared to analyze how varying climates, institutional structures, and physical designs affect water use, policy or behavioral response.

Projects examining urban stormwater management examine the effects of innovative strategies, such as green streets, bioswales, retention/detention systems on environmental quality and neighborhood livability.  This work combines qualitative and quantitative analyses by linking resident perceptions of neighborhood conditions with analyses of biophysical attributes in a pre-post research design.  Surveys found that social perceptions and biophysical conditions aligned in terms of neighborhood walkability (improvement), traffic speeds (decreased), and property values (increased), after the installation of green street facilities.  In addition to these perceived neighborhood improvements, the bioswales reduced the amount of water flowing into sewage systems, which reduces the impacts of stormwater challenges in the region. 

Teaching

Rather than thinking of himself as a teacher, Dr. Shandas thinks of himself as a facilitator for learning and sharing ideas.  He encourages collaboration among students to focus on, analyze, and discuss specific problems related to the urban environment.  These techniques are evident in several of his classes, including Environmental Planning Methods, GIS for Planners, and Environmental Issues in Urban Planning.

Community

 Dr. Shandas views his community as having local, national, and global dimensions, and strives to build on the extensive planning opportunities and willingness of institutions to collaborate in the Portland area.  He believes that the different scales of institutions, whether at the neighborhood or national levels, enable planners and researchers to access a wealth of information and data.  Additionally, the openness of these institutions allows planners and researchers to leverage resources to improve communities and the environment.