Hannah Brenkert–smith
Biographic Data
| ID | 3588787 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hannah Brenkert–smith |
| GIVEN NAMES | Hannah |
| FAMILY NAME | Brenkert–smith |
| SIGNATURE | SMITH H B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Colorado Boulder |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6117-8863 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 70 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Are wildfire risk mitigators more prepared to evacuate? Insights from communities in the Western United States
Wildfire risk information sources and the acceptability of fuels treatments near select WUI communities in the Western United States
Rethinking cost-share programs in consideration of economic equity
Public agencies and organizations often deliver financial assistance through cost sharing, in which recipients contribute some portion toward total costs. However, cost sharing might raise equity concerns if it reduces participation among populations with lower incomes. Here, we revisit a past study using a richer dataset (n=1,689) to assess whether stated income levels affect survey respondents' willingness to participate in a cost share program…
Actionable social science can guide community level wildfire solutions. An illustration from North Central Washington, US
In this study we illustrate the value of social data compiled at the community scale to guide a local wildfire mitigation and education effort. The four contiguous fire-prone study communities in North Central Washington, US, fall within the same jurisdictional fire service boundary and within one US census block group. Across the four communities, similar attitudes toward wildfire were observed. However, significant differences were found on the…
My Place or Yours? Using Spatial Frames to Understand the Role of Place in Forest Management Conflicts
Vegetation treatment projects in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas are highly visible to public scrutiny, which can lead to stakeholder conflicts (e.g. land managers, public) that block a treatment’s implementation, and possibly expose residents to wildfire risk. This study proposes that research on environmental conflicts should account for physical spaces. We develop a conceptualization of spatial frames by combining theorizing on conflict f…
Using conjoint constitution to understand responses to slow-moving environmental change
A growing body of work exists on the social implications of forest insect disturbances. However, although increasingly explored, there remains a need to further understand social responses to large-scale forest insect disturbances over time. This requires longitudinal investigations into people’s conceptualizations of their changing local environments, associated risk perceptions, and forest management preferences in the context of forest insect …
Wildland–Urban Interface Residents’ Relationships with Wildfire
Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across responses for all considered measures, much of which occurs at the…
Adapt to more wildfire in western North American forests as climate changes
Wildfires across western North America have increased in number and size over the past three decades, and this trend will continue in response to further warming. As a consequence, the wildland–urban interface is projected to experience substantially higher risk of climate-driven fires in the coming decades. Although many plants, animals, and ecosystem services benefit from fire, it is unknown how ecosystems will respond to increased burning and …
Where you stand depends on where you sit
Brenkert-Smith, H., J. R. Meldrum, P. A. Champ, and C. M. Barth. 2017. Where you stand depends on where you sit: qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation. Ecology and Society 22(3):7. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09471-220307
Climate change beliefs and hazard mitigation behaviors
Downscaled climate models provide projections of how climate change may exacerbate the local impacts of natural hazards. The extent to which people facing exacerbated hazard conditions understand or respond to climate-related changes to local hazards has been largely overlooked. In this article, we examine the relationships among climate change beliefs, environmental beliefs, and hazard mitigation actions in the context of wildfire, a natural haz…
Catching Fire? Social Interactions, Beliefs, and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Behaviors
Social interactions are widely recognized as a potential influence on risk-related behaviors. We present a mediation model in which social interactions (classified as formal/informal and generic/fire-specific) are associated with beliefs about wildfire risk and mitigation options, which in turn shape wildfire mitigation behaviors. We test this model using survey data from fire-prone areas of Colorado. In several cases, our results are consistent …
Put the wet stuff on the hot stuff’
Applying historical ecology to natural resource management institutions
Wildfire-Migration Dynamics
The number of people living in wildfire prone wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities is on the rise. Yet, no prior study has investigated wildfire-induced residential relocation from WUI areas after a major fire event. To provide insight into the association between socio-demographic and socio-psychological characteristics and wildfire related intention to move, we use data from a survey of WUI residents in Boulder and Larimer Counties, Color…
Differential Adaptive Capacity to Extreme Heat
Climate change is projected to increase the number of days producing excessive heat across the southwestern United States, increasing population exposure to extreme heat events. Extreme heat is currently the main cause of weather-related mortality in the United States, where the negative health effects of extreme heat are disproportionately distributed among geographic regions and demographic groups. To more effectively identify vulnerability to …
Insights Into Wildfire Mitigation Decisions Among Wildland–Urban Interface Residents
In-depth interviews conducted with homeowners in five Colorado wildland–urban interface communities reveal that the homeowners face difficult decisions regarding the reduction of wildfire risk. Rather than seeing risk reduction as straightforward, homeowners appear to be involved in a complex decision-making process with social considerations. The interviews shed light on the social context in which homeowners make wildfire mitigation decisions, …
Insights Into Wildfire Mitigation Decisions Among Wildland–Urban Interface Residents
In-depth interviews conducted with homeowners in five Colorado wildland–urban interface communities reveal that the homeowners face difficult decisions regarding the reduction of wildfire risk. Rather than seeing risk reduction as straightforward, homeowners appear to be involved in a complex decision-making process with social considerations. The interviews shed light on the social context in which homeowners make wildfire mitigation decisions, …
Put the wet stuff on the hot stuff’
Wildfire-Migration Dynamics
The number of people living in wildfire prone wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities is on the rise. Yet, no prior study has investigated wildfire-induced residential relocation from WUI areas after a major fire event. To provide insight into the association between socio-demographic and socio-psychological characteristics and wildfire related intention to move, we use data from a survey of WUI residents in Boulder and Larimer Counties, Color…
Wildland–Urban Interface Residents’ Relationships with Wildfire
Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across responses for all considered measures, much of which occurs at the…
Catching Fire? Social Interactions, Beliefs, and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Behaviors
Social interactions are widely recognized as a potential influence on risk-related behaviors. We present a mediation model in which social interactions (classified as formal/informal and generic/fire-specific) are associated with beliefs about wildfire risk and mitigation options, which in turn shape wildfire mitigation behaviors. We test this model using survey data from fire-prone areas of Colorado. In several cases, our results are consistent …
Applying historical ecology to natural resource management institutions
Where you stand depends on where you sit
Brenkert-Smith, H., J. R. Meldrum, P. A. Champ, and C. M. Barth. 2017. Where you stand depends on where you sit: qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation. Ecology and Society 22(3):7. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09471-220307
Climate change beliefs and hazard mitigation behaviors
Downscaled climate models provide projections of how climate change may exacerbate the local impacts of natural hazards. The extent to which people facing exacerbated hazard conditions understand or respond to climate-related changes to local hazards has been largely overlooked. In this article, we examine the relationships among climate change beliefs, environmental beliefs, and hazard mitigation actions in the context of wildfire, a natural haz…
My Place or Yours? Using Spatial Frames to Understand the Role of Place in Forest Management Conflicts
Vegetation treatment projects in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas are highly visible to public scrutiny, which can lead to stakeholder conflicts (e.g. land managers, public) that block a treatment’s implementation, and possibly expose residents to wildfire risk. This study proposes that research on environmental conflicts should account for physical spaces. We develop a conceptualization of spatial frames by combining theorizing on conflict f…
Insights Into Wildfire Mitigation Decisions Among Wildland–Urban Interface Residents
In-depth interviews conducted with homeowners in five Colorado wildland–urban interface communities reveal that the homeowners face difficult decisions regarding the reduction of wildfire risk. Rather than seeing risk reduction as straightforward, homeowners appear to be involved in a complex decision-making process with social considerations. The interviews shed light on the social context in which homeowners make wildfire mitigation decisions, …
Differential Adaptive Capacity to Extreme Heat
Climate change is projected to increase the number of days producing excessive heat across the southwestern United States, increasing population exposure to extreme heat events. Extreme heat is currently the main cause of weather-related mortality in the United States, where the negative health effects of extreme heat are disproportionately distributed among geographic regions and demographic groups. To more effectively identify vulnerability to …
Wildfire-Migration Dynamics
The number of people living in wildfire prone wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities is on the rise. Yet, no prior study has investigated wildfire-induced residential relocation from WUI areas after a major fire event. To provide insight into the association between socio-demographic and socio-psychological characteristics and wildfire related intention to move, we use data from a survey of WUI residents in Boulder and Larimer Counties, Color…
Applying historical ecology to natural resource management institutions
Climate change beliefs and hazard mitigation behaviors
Downscaled climate models provide projections of how climate change may exacerbate the local impacts of natural hazards. The extent to which people facing exacerbated hazard conditions understand or respond to climate-related changes to local hazards has been largely overlooked. In this article, we examine the relationships among climate change beliefs, environmental beliefs, and hazard mitigation actions in the context of wildfire, a natural haz…
Catching Fire? Social Interactions, Beliefs, and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Behaviors
Social interactions are widely recognized as a potential influence on risk-related behaviors. We present a mediation model in which social interactions (classified as formal/informal and generic/fire-specific) are associated with beliefs about wildfire risk and mitigation options, which in turn shape wildfire mitigation behaviors. We test this model using survey data from fire-prone areas of Colorado. In several cases, our results are consistent …
Put the wet stuff on the hot stuff’
Adapt to more wildfire in western North American forests as climate changes
Wildfires across western North America have increased in number and size over the past three decades, and this trend will continue in response to further warming. As a consequence, the wildland–urban interface is projected to experience substantially higher risk of climate-driven fires in the coming decades. Although many plants, animals, and ecosystem services benefit from fire, it is unknown how ecosystems will respond to increased burning and …
Where you stand depends on where you sit
Brenkert-Smith, H., J. R. Meldrum, P. A. Champ, and C. M. Barth. 2017. Where you stand depends on where you sit: qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation. Ecology and Society 22(3):7. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09471-220307
Wildland–Urban Interface Residents’ Relationships with Wildfire
Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across responses for all considered measures, much of which occurs at the…
Using conjoint constitution to understand responses to slow-moving environmental change
A growing body of work exists on the social implications of forest insect disturbances. However, although increasingly explored, there remains a need to further understand social responses to large-scale forest insect disturbances over time. This requires longitudinal investigations into people’s conceptualizations of their changing local environments, associated risk perceptions, and forest management preferences in the context of forest insect …
My Place or Yours? Using Spatial Frames to Understand the Role of Place in Forest Management Conflicts
Vegetation treatment projects in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas are highly visible to public scrutiny, which can lead to stakeholder conflicts (e.g. land managers, public) that block a treatment’s implementation, and possibly expose residents to wildfire risk. This study proposes that research on environmental conflicts should account for physical spaces. We develop a conceptualization of spatial frames by combining theorizing on conflict f…
Actionable social science can guide community level wildfire solutions. An illustration from North Central Washington, US
In this study we illustrate the value of social data compiled at the community scale to guide a local wildfire mitigation and education effort. The four contiguous fire-prone study communities in North Central Washington, US, fall within the same jurisdictional fire service boundary and within one US census block group. Across the four communities, similar attitudes toward wildfire were observed. However, significant differences were found on the…
Rethinking cost-share programs in consideration of economic equity
Public agencies and organizations often deliver financial assistance through cost sharing, in which recipients contribute some portion toward total costs. However, cost sharing might raise equity concerns if it reduces participation among populations with lower incomes. Here, we revisit a past study using a richer dataset (n=1,689) to assess whether stated income levels affect survey respondents' willingness to participate in a cost share program…
Are wildfire risk mitigators more prepared to evacuate? Insights from communities in the Western United States
Wildfire risk information sources and the acceptability of fuels treatments near select WUI communities in the Western United States
Geography (14 works) · Fire effects on ecosystems (13 works) · Environmental resource management (11 works) · Disaster Management and Resilience (8 works) · Environmental planning (8 works) · Environmental Science (8 works) · Ecology (6 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Business (4 works)