NNA Track 2: Responding to the housing crisis in the Arctic: A transdisciplinary approach across physical, natural, and social systems

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Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. The Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, and integrates the co-production of knowledge. This award fulfills part of that aim.The housing conditions of Alaska Natives are significantly less developed compared to other parts of the United States. Such conditions result in poorer ventilation and indoor air quality, both of which negatively impact the health of the occupants. Additionally, housing durability is threatened by biophysical changes occurring as a result of climate change-driven permafrost thaw and erosion. The combination of issues that threaten household health emphasizes the critical need to consider housing risks and solutions using a holistic research methodology that rely on multiple disciplines and local knowledge unique to a community. This planning project aims to form a research team that consists of experts in diverse fields that collectively partner with communities to address the complex issues of housing in the Arctic. This research addresses the root causes of the housing crisis by bridging the divide between disciplines and communities to identify culturally appropriate solutions of housing challenges in Alaska. As a result, this project contributes to a more comprehensive and complete understanding of housing vulnerability. The collaborative and community-centered nature of this research develops an understanding of housing vulnerability grounded in the priorities and needs of communities, thus improving the sustainability of resulting programs and policies. The overall goal of this research is to form a multi-disciplinary research team that is fully prepared to assess and identify housing vulnerabilities in two Alaska Native communities using a community-based research methodology. In this research, housing vulnerability is described as the housing susceptibility to biophysical changes (e.g., permafrost thaw and erosion) and household exposure to substandard living conditions (e.g., poor thermal comfort, poor ventilation). The team of researchers includes experts in physical systems (geotechnical, energy and thermal performance), natural systems (atmospheric sciences, erosion) and social systems (sociology, psychology). Throughout the proposed two-year timeline, the research team will strategically organize a series of events to work towards this goal, including: (1) Planning Grant Kick-off Meeting; (2) Need Assessment Study in two Alaska Native communities using Community-based Participatory Research; (3) Workshop in two Alaska Native communities; (4) Curriculum design and implementation on Arctic Resilient Housing and Communities; and (5) Planning Grant Summary Meeting.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.