University of Nevada Las Vegas
IN-2: Innovation 2

The ‘sustainability atlas’ is a place-based research work that takes regional, city and municipal data to create an inventory and narrative for resiliency planning. The atlas contains relevant and significant information about the systems that support a specific metropolitan region: water, energy, transportation, food systems/agriculture, ecosystems, waste and pollution. Maps, diagrams, and text create a story to tell people in this metropolitan region or city how these systems work, where they are located, and what critical issues to resiliency might be for them. The project is innovative as it takes data typically separated by topic (i.e. water and food may not be discussed together), or data relative to broad geographies and makes it place-specific; communicated in terms a layperson could understand. In short, the project is meant to be applied use of data to build a foundation for resiliency planning by clear and integrated narratives of systems in metropolitan areas or cities. In the atlas, we also use data to establish a hierarchy of issues to address in resiliency analysis and planning.

There are no quantitative measurable outcomes from the SNISS. The project funders have met several times with the SNISS team in an advisory capacity. This set of meetings established relationships and centered conversation among Valley leaders focused upon resiliency. Students in the design studios at the UNLV Downtown Design Center are working on the atlas project, and a few of them are using the SNISS to direct and support their projects related to the sustainability and resilience of Las Vegas. It is expected the SNISS document will support and guide future students in the School of Architecture - to help them establish relevance and accuracy in their applied studies for designs and plans in the Las Vegas Valley