Yexuan Gu

Climate change intensifies natural disasters, requiring enhanced understanding of urban resilience mechanisms. While green infrastructure’s disaster mitigation role has been established through engineering studies, empirical evidence linking green infrastructure quality to post-disaster economic adaptation remains limited. This study examines whether community-level green infrastructure quality correlates with post-disaster economic adaptation following Hurricane Laura’s August 2020 landfall. [Methods] Using a natural experiment design, we analyzed 247 Census Block Groups in two coastal Texas communities (Galveston and Port Arthur) experiencing differential disaster severity. We employed ordinary least squares regression with SafeGraph foot traffic data to measure economic recovery and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to measure green infrastructure quality. Results demonstrate that green infrastructure quality significantly correlates with post-disaster adaptation (β = 1.27, p < 0.001), independent of socioeconomic characteristics. The NDVI–severity interaction proved non-significant, indicating consistent associations across impact contexts. These findings suggest that green infrastructure supports resilience universally rather than only in moderate-risk areas. From an environmental justice perspective, equitable distribution may reduce disaster-related inequalities, supporting “bouncing forward” adaptation trajectories.

Hydrothermal processing (e.g., hydrothermal liquefaction) is one of the most promising systems to valorize a wide range of biomass. However, a large amount of aqueous byproduct is generated, which contains high soluble concentrations of both organics and nutrients. Thus, valorization of the aqueous byproduct can be clearly beneficial for the environment and energy recovery. Various physicochemical systems have been recognized for the valorization of aqueous byproducts, such as chemical, thermochemical, and electrochemical systems. Accordingly, this article reviews the valorization of the aqueous byproduct from hydrothermal processing (mainly hydrothermal liquefaction) from several points of view, starting with the characteristics of the aqueous byproduct originating from the hydrothermal processing of diverse biomass. The recent progress in numerous physicochemical systems, including catalytic hydrothermal gasification and microbial electrolysis cells, is comprehensively demonstrated with emphasis on their combinations since integrated systems allow energy and nutrients to be recovered more environmentally and economically feasible. The fundamentals, advantages, limitations, and the most recent findings faced in the development of each physicochemical system are also elucidated. Subsequently, the new concept of systems thinking is proposed to evaluate these systems, and a systemic framework is presented to consolidate the practical applications of these systems. Consequently, this review illustrates both the future perspectives of wastewater valorization and the milestones that should be achieved in the future.

Scholars from a variety of disciplines have been working to unravel the complexities of geodesign as an approach to tackling a host of problems. We argue that a mature understanding of geodesign requires a systemic perspective to organize the interconnections between ecological, social and economic conditions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. We reviewed definitions and perspectives of geodesign and key concepts of ecological systems thinking to develop a new framework for landscape architecture. We provide the state-of-the-art in geodesign within the context of systems thinking and coupled human-environmental resilience. We show that geodesign is capable to encourage public participation and interdisciplinary collaboration through its systemic planning processes and synergetic technologies. The thrust of geodesign-related research is the emerging paradigm of landscape-based sustainability. While landscape architecture is complex in many aspects, the integrated framework promotes our understanding about its social-ecological potential, spatial-temporal association and resilience of coupled human-environment systems. Based on the findings, we outline key contributions, implications, challenges and recommendations for future research.