Jeff Birchall, PhD, RPP, MCIP

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Curriculum Vitæ

Contact Overview Courses Activities Publications

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science - Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Email: sjbircha@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Local climate impacts climate adaptation resilience planning local governance

About

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. I have broad research and teaching experience in climate/ environmental change and planning, and specific expertise in local governance, climate change adaptation, social vulnerability, health/ wellbeing, disaster risk reduction and sustainability. I have a range of academic and public sector experience, with an education that includes study in human geography (BA) and environmental planning (BES), and advanced study in climate change policy (MES) and sustainability (PhD).

I am a registered professional planner through the Alberta Professional Planners Institute (RPP) and the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP).

I am the Director of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Lab (CARL) and serve as Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Local-scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience (https://www.uarctic.org/organization/thematic-networks/local-scale-planning-climate-change-and-resilience/)

Research

My research program, while grounded in community planning, is interdisciplinary in scope, and explores the broad theme of environmental resilience at the local scale.

My work on environmental resilience primarily examines local scale governance, and decision dynamics around motivational factors and extent of local planning for climate change risk reduction. Specifically, I am interested in localized environmental impacts (eg. weak shore-fast ice, permafrost thaw, erosion, flooding, wildfire) and how they affect critical infrastructure (eg. seawalls, roads, utilities, assets) and the built form (eg. land use, zoning), how this relates to planning decisions, and what this means for community well-being and safety. Research is largely driven by key actor and local stakeholder engagement, and includes site assessments and the examination of strategic planning documents. Ultimately, the aim of my research is the (co-) production of policy relevant knowledge/ outcomes, and translating theory into practice in a useful, locally informed way.

Courses

PLAN 485 - Advanced Topics in Planning

Exploring planning theories in the context of contemporary events phenomena. Prerequisite or Corequisite: PLAN 310 or HGP 310. Variable content course which may be repeated if topic(s) vary.

Winter Term 2026

PLAN 500 - Planning for Resilient Cities and Regions

The role of adaptive and resilience oriented planning to contribute to the development of regions that can sustain themselves and prosper through change and uncertainty. Sections offered at an increased rate of fee assessment; refer to the Tuition and Fees page in the University Regulations sections of the Calendar.

Winter Term 2026

Browse more courses taught by Jeff Birchall

Scholarly Activities

Research - Coastal Community Climate Change Resilience - Arctic Coast

Started: 201805

Case studies include communities in Yukon (Haines Junction, Whitehorse, Dawson City), Alaska (Nome, Homer)

Research - Coastal Community Climate Change Resilience - Atlantic Coast

Started: 201705

Case studies include communities in New Brunswick (Fredericton), Nova Scotia (Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Halifax), PEI (Charlottetown)

Research - Coastal Community Climate Change Resilience - Pacific Coast

Started: 201606

Case studies include communities in British Columbia (Cities: Victoria, Surrey, North Vancouver, Nanaimo; Regional Districts: Comox Valley, Nanaimo, Alberi-Clayoquot, Cowichan Valley)

Research - International Thematic Network Lead - Local-scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience

New international network on climate change led by UAlberta scientist

Featured Publications

The influence of ecosystem service values on green infrastructure and urban development: Insights from 5 Canadian municipalities

Baran, N., Birchall, SJ.

Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. 2025 June; 10.1080/1523908X.2025.2528643

Factors contributing to climate adaptation lag in practice: Insights from local and territorial government interactions

Birchall, SJ., Bonnett, N., Rose, D., Gilchrist, E.

Environmental Science & Policy. 2025 May; 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104097

Why history matters to planning: Climate change, colonialism & maladaptation

Kehler, S., Birchall, SJ

Environmental Science & Policy. 2025 April; 10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104076

“Sometimes, I just want to scream”: Institutional barriers limiting adaptive capacity and resilience to extreme events

Birchall, SJ., Kehler, S., Weissenberger, S

Global Environmental Change. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102967

Local planning for climate induced relocation: A systematic review

Bonnett, N., Birchall, SJ.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.105094

Sustainable municipal solid waste management: A comparative analysis of enablers and barriers to advance governance in the Arctic

Filimonova, N., Birchall, SJ.

Journal of Environmental Management. 2024 October; 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123111

Regional climate change adaptation planning in Canada: Actors and their articulation

Weissenberger, S., Birchall, SJ

Canadian Geographies. 2024 September; 10.1111/cag.12960

Bolstering community resilience through health-focused climate change adaptation: Moving from talk to action in Western Canadian communities

Rose, D., Birchall, SJ.

Climate Policy. 2024 August; 10.1080/14693062.2024.2395920

Urban resilience through ecosystem services in Edmonton, Canada: An assessment of gaps and recommendations

Zazula, N., Birchall, SJ.

Urban Ecosystems. 2024 May; 10.1007/s11252-024-01561-x

Climate change adaptation planning: Breaking down barriers through comprehensive educational frameworks

Birchall, SJ., MacDonald, S., Bonnett, N.

Journal of Planning Education and Research. 2024 March; 10.1177/0739456X241242059

Strengthening health-focused climate adaptation in Canada: Barriers and interventions

Rose, Desiree; Birchall, S. Jeff

Canadian Geographies. 2023 December; 10.1111/cag.12894

Climate change adaptation planning and resilience

Birchall, SJ., Koleyak, D.

Elgar Encyclopedia in Urban and Regional Planning and Design. 2023 December; 10.4337/9781800889002.000026

Key elements of defensible space land use bylaw provisions in wildland-urban interface communities

Muffly, J., Birchall, SJ.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2023 September; 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103988

Denial and discretion as a governance process: How actor perceptions of risk and responsibility hinder adaptation to climate change

Birchall, SJ, Kehler, S

Environmental Science and Policy. 2023 June; 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.05.017

Climate change adaptation: How short-term political priorities trample public well-being

Kehler, S., Birchall, SJ.

Environmental Science & Policy. 2023 May; 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.05.012

The influence of governance structure on local resilience: Enabling and constraining factors for climate change adaptation in practice

Birchall, SJ., Bonnett, N., Kehler, S.

Urban Climate. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101348

Growing resilient: The potential of urban agriculture for increasing food security and improving earthquake recovery

Slater, T., Birchall, SJ.

Cities. 2022 September; 10.1016/j.cities.2022.103930

Fostering resilience and adapting to climate change the Canadian North: Implications for infrastructure in the proposed Canadian Northern Corridor

S Jeff Birchall; Sarah Kehler, Nicole Bonnett

School of Public Policy Publications (University of Calgary). 2022 June; (Canadian Northern Corridor Special Series) 10.11575/sppp.v15i1.74463

Arctic and northern community governance: The need for local planning and design as resilience strategy

Kristof van Assche, S. Jeff Birchall, Monica Gruezmacher

Land Use Policy. 2022 February; 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106062

The influence of regional strategic policy on municipal climate adaptation planning

Bonnett, N., Birchall, SJ.

Regional Studies. 2022 February; 10.1080/00343404.2022.2049224

An assessment of systems, agents, and institutions in building community resilience to climate change: A case study of Charlottetown, Canada

Birchall, SJ., MacDonald, S., Baran, N.

Urban Climate. 2022 January; 10.1016/j.uclim.2021.101062

Social vulnerability and climate change adaptation: The critical importance of moving beyond technocratic policy approaches

Kehler, S. Birchall, SJ.

Environmental Science & Policy. 2021 August; 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.07.025

Challenges to climate change adaptation in coastal small towns: Examples from Ghana, Uruguay, Finland, Denmark, and Alaska

Fitton, J., Addo, K.A, Jayson-Quashigah, P-N., Nagy, G., Gutierrez, O., Panario, D., Carro, I., Seijo, L., Segura, C., Verocai, J.E., Luoma, S., Klien, J., Zhang, T-T, Birchall, SJ., Stempel, P.

Ocean and Coastal Management. 2021 June;