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Brendan L. Lavy

Brendan L. Lavy

Assistant Professor

he/him 817-257-7273 Sid W. Richardson 222 (map link)

Program Affiliations

College of Science & EngineeringEnvironmental & Sustainability Sciences
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Education

BA, University of North Texas, 1998 (Anthropology)
MS, Texas State University, 2013 (Geography)
PhD, Texas State University, 2017 (Geography)

Areas of Focus

My teaching and research interests relate to sustainability metrics, business sustainability, urban forestry, urban environmental management, disaster recovery and resilience, watershed resilience, and geographic information systems (GIS). Within these areas, my ongoing research projects include studying how businesses' sustainability practices align with principles of the circular economy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), how municipal environmental ordinances and their outcomes support urban sustainability initiatives, and how the recovery of parks and protected places influences the recovery of communities impacted by disasters. My research is Texas based with continuing projects in Dallas-Fort Worth, Central Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. For 2019-2021, I was a fellow for the Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Fellowship Program (NSF #CMMI1921157).

  • ENSC 10143: Contemporary Environmental Issues
  • ENSC 30143: Introduction to Sustainability Science
  • ENSC 30403: Field Experience
  • ENSC 50743: Environmental Impact Statements
  • ENSC 50793: Environmental Sustainability
  • ENSC 60203: Environmental Issues
  • ENSC 70010: Research in Sustainability Science
  • de Oyarzabal Barba, M., B. L. Lavy, and V. Bennett. 2024. Improving urban flyways for bats: The importance of tree canopy structure. Wildlife Biology 2024: e01284. https://doi.org/10.1002/wlb3.01284
  • Lavy, B. L., and E. M. Zavar. 2023. Recovering the urban forest: The role of trees, tree culture, and place attachment before and after Hurricane Harvey. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 84: 127949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127949
  • Tamima, S., E. M. Zavar, B. L. Lavy, and R. L. Schumann, III. 2023. A range of pandemic adjustments: Changes to Texas Heritage site business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability 16(7): 2860. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072860
  • Lavy, B. L., E. M. Zavar, and S. Tamima. 2023. Heritage as businesses: COVID-19 disruptions to Texas museums, heritage sites, parks, and protected places, and their responses to evolving guidance. International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks 11(4): 652-668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgeop.2023.11.004
  • Maleki, S., R. R. Hagelman, III, and B. L. Lavy. 2023. Neighborhood child friendliness: A comparative analysis of parental landscape perceptions and geographic information systems-based urban planning indexes. The Professional Geographer 74(4): 604-617. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2022.2124180
  • Lavy, B. L., R. C. Weaver, and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2022. Using the Change Point Model (CPM) framework to identify windows for water resource management action in the Lower Colorado River Basin of Texas, USA. Water 14(1): 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010018
  • Zavar, E. M., and B. L. Lavy. 2021. Mitigation: Learning from and anticipating crises. In E. Stern, editor, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1963
  • Lavy, B. L. 2020. Cooperation, fragmentation and control: News media representations of changing water access from Austin to the Texas Rice Belt. Water Alternatives 13(3): 779-799.
  • Zavar, E. M., B. L. Lavy, and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2020. Chain tourism in post-disaster recovery.Tourist Studies 20(4): 429-449. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797620939413
  • Lavy, B. L., and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2019. Protecting the urban forest: Variations in standards and sustainability dimensions of municipal tree preservation ordinances. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 44: 126394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126394
  • Lavy, B. L., and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2017. Spatial and temporal patterns associated with permitted tree removal in Austin, Texas, 2002-2011. The Professional Geographer 69(4): 539-552. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2016.1266953
  • Lavy, B. L.*, and E. M. Zavar. 2024. Trees on urban floodplain buyout sites: Evaluating new and existing opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. 35th International Geographical Congress, Dublin, IRL
  • Dascher, E. D.*, and B. L. Lavy. 2024. Proximity and regionality: Recognizing Wild and Scenic River gateway communities. American Association of Geographers, Honolulu, HI
  • Buckmeier, A.1,* M. de Oyarzabal Barba1, and B. L. Lavy. 2023. An equity analysis of tree canopy in Tarrant County, Texas. Southwestern Division of the American Association of Geographers, Laredo, TX. (poster presentation)
  • Maleki, S., R. R. Hagelman, and B. L. Lavy*. 2023. Neighborhood child friendliness: A comparative analysis of parental landscape perceptions and geographic information systems-based urban planning indexes. American Association of Geographers, Denver, CO
  • Lavy, B. L.,* E. M. Zavar, and S. Tamima.1 2022. Texas museums, heritage sites, parks, and protected places responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. American Association of Geographers, Virtual and New York, NY
  • Howe, K.,1,* and B. L. Lavy. 2022. Sustainability practices of food, beverage, and textile manufacturers in Texas’s four largest metropolitan areas. American Association of Geographers, Virtual and New York, NY
  • Lavy, B. L.,* and E. M. Zavar. 2021. Trees, tree cultures, and disasters: Implications for urban forest management. American Association of Geographers, Virtual and Seattle, WA
  • Lavy, B. L., and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2019. Protecting the urban forest: Variations in standards and sustainability dimensions of municipal tree preservation ordinances. Southwestern Division of the American Association of Geographers, Fort Worth, TX
  • Lavy, B. L., E. M. Zavar, and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2019. Business recovery along the Central Texas Coast following Hurricane Harvey. American Association of Geographers, Washington, DC
  • Lavy, B. L., R. Weaver, and R. R. Hagelman, III. 2018. Changes in urban and agricultural water use in the Lower Colorado River Valley of Texas. American Association of Geographers, New Orleans, LA

*presenter;  1graduate student

Last Updated: November 19, 2024

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