Betsy Breyer
Instructional Assistant Professor
Urban sustainability, environmental justice, socio-ecological systems
Research
My work combines critical social theory and geospatial techniques to understand the intertwined social and biophysical processes that make up urban systems. I am advancing several projects that investigate urban greenspace as a focal point to engage problems of environmental governance, sustainability, and social inequality.
Selected Publications
Breyer, B., J. Qiu, and S. Zipper. 2018. Sociohydrological impacts of water conservation under anthropogenic drought in Austin, Texas (USA). Water Resources Research 54 (4): 3062-3080. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021155
Zipper, S. C., K. Helm Smith, B. Breyer, J. Qiu, A. Kung, D. Hermann. 2017. Socio-environmental drought response in a mixed urban-agricultural watershed: Biophysical resilience and implications for governance. Ecology and Society 22 (4): 39. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09549-220439
Breyer, B. 2015. Food Mirages. In Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas. D. Banis and H. Shobe, eds. Seattle, WA: Sasquatch Books.
Breyer, B. and H. Chang. 2014. Urban water consumption and weather variation in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Urban Climate 9: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2014.05.001
Breyer, B. and A. Voss-Andreae. 2013. Food mirages: Geographic and economic barriers to healthful food access in Portland, Oregon. Health & Place 24: 131-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.07.008
Breyer, B., H. Chang, and G. H. Parandvash. 2012. Land use, temperature, and single-family residential water use patterns in Portland, Oregon and Phoenix, Arizona. Applied Geography 35 (1-2): 142-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2012.06.012
Education
Ph.D. Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.S. Geography, Portland State University
Certificate in GIS, Portland State University
B.A. Economics, Reed College
