Hi, my name is Suwan Shen, and I am an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. My primary research focuses on the interaction between critical infrastructure systems and the changing environment, with a particular emphasis on climate change vulnerability. Critical infrastructures such as transportation are vital to supporting social and economic activities. The breakdown of such infrastructure would have devastating effects on public safety and undermine social resilience. In recent years, climate change has become a pressing threat to critical infrastructure, especially in the coastal region. Using transportation and land use models, spatial analysis, and environmental projections and simulations, I investigate the vulnerability of critical infrastructures and investigate adaptation options to climate change. Through case studies, I have conducted research to examine the vulnerability of emergency services to projected storm surges, estimate the impacts of sea level rise and changing rainfall patterns on the transportation network, evaluate the effectiveness of common adaptation strategies, and explore the factors influencing local vulnerability and adaptive capacity. While physical performance is important, understanding the social aspect is also crucial for climate change adaptation. Currently, I am working on projects investigating the social sensitivity of the impacts of coastal flooding on transportation, especially for socially vulnerable populations, utilizing community surveys and social media data.
Urban and Regional Planning, UH Mānoa
Climate Change Impact, Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability, Risk Perception and Adaptation
Areas of Interest
Climate Change Impact, Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability, Risk Perception and Adaptation
Selected Books and Publications:
Shen, S., Kim, K.(2020) Assessment of transportation system vulnerabilities to tidal flooding in Honolulu, Hawaii. Transportation research record, 2674(11), 207-219.
Budd, E., Babcock, R. W., Spirandelli, D., Shen, S., & Fung, A. (2020). Sensitivity Analysis of a Groundwater Infiltration Model and Sea-Level Rise Applications for Coastal Sewers. Water, 12(3), 923.
Shen, S., & Ristroph, E. B. (2020). The Relationship between Climate Vulnerability and Disaster Declarations: A Case Study of Flood-Prone Indigenous Communities in Alaska. Natural Hazards Review, 21(1), 05019004.
Qiang, Y. Shen, S., & Chen, Q. (2019). Visibility analysis of oceanic blue space using digital elevation models. Landscape and Urban Planning, 181, 92-102.
Sun, D. J., Zhang, K., Shen, S. (2018). Analyzing spatiotemporal traffic line source emissions based on massive didi online car-hailing service data. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 62, 699-714.
Zhang, K., Sun, D. J. , Shen, S., & Zhu, Y. (2017). Analyzing spatiotemporal congestion pattern on urban roads based on taxi GPS data. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 10(1).
Shen, S.,Feng, X. and Peng, Z.R. (2016). A framework to analyze vulnerability of critical infrastructure to climate change: the case of a coastal community in Florida. Natural Hazards, 84(1), pp.589-609.
Zhao, L., Peng, Z. R., Yang, F., & Shen, S. (2014). A bid-rent land-use adaptation model for mitigating road network vulnerability and traffic emissions. o Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 11(8), 2359-2368.