Alex Clapp, Simon Fraser University
Department of Geography
Professor
Vancouver, British Columbia
aclapp@sfu.ca
Office:
(778) 782-3635
Expert In
Bio/Research
I was born in Boston in 1961, and received my B. A. (Linguistics, 1983) from Yale. After spending two years working in artificial intelligence and in the Central American solidarity movement, I began graduate training in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley (M. A., 1987; Ph. D., ...
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Bio/Research
I was born in Boston in 1961, and received my B. A. (Linguistics, 1983) from Yale. After spending two years working in artificial intelligence and in the Central American solidarity movement, I began graduate training in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley (M. A., 1987; Ph. D., 1993). I taught at the University of Toronto for five years (1993-8) before coming to Simon Fraser University in 1998.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Open Data, Environmental Policy and Boundary Organizations.
Boundary organizations, institutions that answer to both political and scientific standards, are emerging as key actors in environmental politics. The data they collect and analyze have become public utilities because of their influence on political decisions, and open data approaches have become essential for transparency, credibility and legitimacy. Several case studies examine how boundary organizations and open data shape responses to environmental conflict and crisis, including BC’s Coast Information Team, the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the global temperature record.
The Conservation Mosaic
Common property theory has important implications for protected area design and management. The national park and wilderness models work well for remote uninhabited spaces, but are a poor fit in productive lowlands with communities with customary rights to local resources. Spatial conservation strategies to promote ecosystem resilience and adaptation in a changing climate require additional models of protected areas that accept humans as a part of nature, not apart from it. Private and community protected areas are essential components of well-connected conservation networks. These projects evaluate whether landscapes under local control can extend and link protected areas across a mosaic of property types without sacrificing the wellbeing of local residents. Case studies include the temperate rainforests (BC, Chile, New Zealand and Tasmania), and research collaborations on Costa Rica and Ecuador.
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RESEARCH INTERESTS
Open Data, Environmental Policy and Boundary Organizations.
Boundary organizations, institutions that answer to both political and scientific standards, are emerging as key actors in environmental politics. The data they collect and analyze have become public utilities because of their influence on political decisions, and open data approaches have become essential for transparency, credibility and legitimacy. Several case studies examine how boundary organizations and open data shape responses to environmental conflict and crisis, including BC’s Coast Information Team, the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and the global temperature record.
The Conservation Mosaic
Common property theory has important implications for protected area design and management. The national park and wilderness models work well for remote uninhabited spaces, but are a poor fit in productive lowlands with communities with customary rights to local resources. Spatial conservation strategies to promote ecosystem resilience and adaptation in a changing climate require additional models of protected areas that accept humans as a part of nature, not apart from it. Private and community protected areas are essential components of well-connected conservation networks. These projects evaluate whether landscapes under local control can extend and link protected areas across a mosaic of property types without sacrificing the wellbeing of local residents. Case studies include the temperate rainforests (BC, Chile, New Zealand and Tasmania), and research collaborations on Costa Rica and Ecuador.
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