Systemic risks in climate adaptation

Kendrick’s research identifies systemic risks that appear during the process of climate mitigation and adaptation, and he aims to provide strategic pathways forward that mitigate those risks.

The urgency of climate change and the current ad hoc climate adaptation being undertaken by communities presents risks in the from of inappropriate technology adoption, inequitable outcomes, and maladaptive or myopic infrastructure planning. Even within academic spaces, the complex interconnections that exist between social, ecological, and technical systems can lead to missed feedback loops and unintended consequences arising from planning.

The dual challenge of urgency and uncertainty must be dealt with by engaging with forward-thinking and systems-based analyses. To develop and implement long-term solutions to climate-induced issues, Kendrick uses system dynamics, simulation, risk analysis, and environmental impact assessments that specifically look at the interconnections between social, ecological, and technical systems.

Some of his past and current projects include:

• The transportation-land use interaction’s environmental impact
• Reviewing blind spots in industry sustainability assessments
• Multi-criteria spatial optimization for a sustainable managed retreat
• Comparative risk analyses of complex systems
• Illustrating and defining risk
• Critically examining the financing of climate adaptation plans
• Developing a framework for rural climate resilience planning