Priscila B. R. Alves

Priscila is the Assistant Research Professor at the Urban Studies & Planning Program and Lab Manager of the Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab of the University of Maryland (UMD). She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, and a MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) in Brazil.

Priscila is a civil engineer with experience in water resources, environmental engineering and urban planning. Her professional experience combines applying hydrological modeling and GIS tool for understanding the built environment, conducting participatory approaches for engaging with stakeholders, leading research projects, teaching and supervising graduate and undergraduate students. She also has experience in teaching in Brazil and the UK.

Priscila grew up in Brazil, but also lived in the US and the UK during her professional career. The cultural diversity of these experiences provided her a variety of perspectives of how the disaster risk is rooted in the vulnerabilities and political-institutional conditions of the areas. Her main research interests are in combination of spatial tools with participatory approaches for disaster risk reduction, especially for the reduction of water-related hazards, such as floods, water shortage and sewage overflows. Her previous publications include the analysis of mitigation strategies for disaster risk reduction, aspects of social vulnerability and infrastructure, methods for understanding sewage backup events, along with the understanding of risk perception and coping capacity of residents, and the mapping of vulnerable areas for flood and water shortage disasters.

Research Interests:

• Spatial analysis (GIS – Geographic Information Systems)
• Community-based Participatory Research
• Participatory Mapping
• Stormwater modeling and disaster risk reduction
• Multiple benefits of green infrastructure solutions such as NBS, SUDS, LID, BGI, GI

Affiliations:

• Urban Studies & Planning Program (URSP), University of Maryland, US
• Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice Lab, University of Maryland, US
• Civil and Environmental Engineering Program (PPGECA), Federal University of Campina Grande, Brazil