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Sara Hughes

Sara Hughes
Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability
Environmental Policy and Planning
Climate + Energy
Water
Cities + Mobility + Built Environment
hughessm@umich.edu
(734) 647-1209
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G170 Dana
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About

Associate Professor Hughes studies policy agendas, policy analysis, and governance processes, focusing on decisions about water resources and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Current projects examine the political and institutional dimensions of equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water in the U.S.; the role of municipal finances in drinking water management and investments; and urban climate change governance, including equitable approaches to building urban climate resilience.

Publications

Books: 

Hughes, Sara. 2019. "Repowering Cities: Governing Climate Change Mitigation in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto," Cornell University Press

Hughes, Sara, Eric Chu, and Susan Mason. 2018. "Climate Change in Cities: Innovations in Multilevel Governance," Springer Press

 

Selected Books Articles:

Hughes, Sara, Sarah Dobie, Kirsten Schwarz, Genevieve LaMarr LeMee, Madeleine Lane, Andres Gonzalez. Forthcoming. “Centering Racial Justice in Urban Flood Resilience Policy and Planning: Tools for practitioners and stakeholders,” Environmental Justice

Hughes, Sara, Sarah Giest, and Laura Tozer. 2020. “Accountability and Data-Driven  Urban Climate Governance,” Nature Climate Change 10: 1085-1090.

Hughes, Sara. 2020 “Flint, Michigan and the Politics of Safe Drinking Water in the US,” Perspectives on Politics, First View, pp. 1-14. doi:10.1017/S153759272000136X.

Hughes, Sara. 2020. “Principles, Drivers, and Policy Tools for Just Climate Change Adaptation in Legacy Cities,” Environmental Science and Policy, Vol. 111, pp. 35-41.

Hughes, Sara and Matthew Hoffmann. 2020. “Just Urban Transitions: Toward a Research Agenda,” WIREs Climate Change, e640. doi: 10.1002/wcc.640 

 

Research

National Science Foundation, 2021-2024
“Feeling the Squeeze: How Financial Stress Shapes Decision-Making and the Resilience of Municipal Drinking Water Systems” 

Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant, 2020-2024
“The 100 Resilient Cities Initiative: A Natural Experiment in the Politics of Creating a Sustainable World” (with Matthew Hoffmann, University of Toronto)

University of Michigan Poverty Solutions, 2020-2021
“Understanding How Poverty Affects Water Affordability in Detroit”

University of Michigan Graham Sustainability Institute, 2020-2021
“Supporting Justice in Urban Climate Change Adaptation”

 

Education

PhD in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara

In the News
Faculty Accolades

Faculty Accolades

Professor Paul Mohai was appointed senior policy adviser at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He joined the Office of Environmental Justice as an expert on...

The Rouge River in Detroit, where an interdisciplinary study will utilize watershed data to understand how urban form and local policies contribute to urban water quality.

Developing Water Policy Solutions that Ensure a Just and Resilient Future

Sara Hughes named CIGLR's associate director
June 27, 2022

Sara Hughes named CIGLR's associate director

Sara Hughes, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), has been named the Associate Director of the...

Wege speaker: Everyone has a role in saving the planet
February 24, 2022

Wege speaker: Everyone has a role in saving the planet

For the environmental movement to be effective, it must be something that everyone participates in, marine biologist and climate policy expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson...

Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson to deliver Wege Lecture
February 18, 2022

Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson to deliver Wege Lecture

Marine biologist and climate policy expert Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson will deliver the Wege Lecture on Sustainability on February 23. Johnson is the co-founder of Urban...

MUSE Conference keynote: Addressing historic and predicted impacts of relocation upon Indigenous kinship
February 14, 2022

MUSE Conference talk advocates for transforming cities into more equitable and just places

The Michigan University-Wide Sustainability and Environment (MUSE) Conference concluded February 4 with keynote speaker Dr. Sara Hughes, an assistant professor in the...

GEO for Cities
November 18, 2021

GEO for Cities Launches

With the launch of Global Environment Outlook (GEO) for Cities, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published its seventh GEO report since 1997. Assistant...

Research Highlights

In the Media
08/30/2022
Sara Hughes
Water At Michigan Prison Still Runs Brown 1.5 Years After Source Switch (Deadline Detroit)
05/10/2022
Sara Hughes
Michigan’s "very big opportunity" in infrastructure windfall (Michigan Radio)
05/04/2022
Sara Hughes
Many rural towns have neglected drinking water systems for decades (WKAR-TV)
05/02/2022
Sara Hughes
After decades of neglect, bill coming due for Michigan’s water infrastructure (Michigan Radio)
03/11/2022
Sara Hughes
Michigan’s uneven and unequal approach to taking over municipal governments in financial distress is linked to local drinking water crises (London School of Economics Phelan US Centre Blog)
01/12/2022
Sara Hughes
An Alabama Town’s Sewage Woes Test Biden’s Infrastructure Ambitions (The New York Times)
12/13/2021
Sara Hughes
High costs, few customers: Benton Harbor water woes loom for Michigan cities (Bridge Michigan)
09/20/2021
Sara Hughes
EMs helped cause the Flint water crisis and changed other Michigan water systems, UM study shows (MLIve)
08/09/2021
Sara Hughes
Report: Racial disparities afflict EPA drinking water funds (E&E News)
04/05/2021
Sara Hughes
In Broad Strokes, Biden Infrastructure Plan Sketches a Future for Federal Water Spending (Great Lakes Now)
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