About

Traci Rose Rider, PhD, WELL AP, LEED AP, is the Co-Director of the Alliance and an associate professor and University Faculty Scholar at NC State University’s College of Design. Her funded research focuses on how school environments in marginalized communities can increase positive health outcomes and community resiliency for the community at large, in addition to supporting mental, physical, and emotional health for students and families. Her interdisciplinary work addresses larger issues of health, sustainability, and resilience. She has authored two books that address green building guidelines and green materials, with her latest book, Building for Well-Being (2022), addressing health rating systems. Her courses explore existing buildings and operations, the WELL Building Standard, and the Living Building Challenge.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Geography
• Environmental science
• Geology
• Agroforestry
• Water resource management
• Oceanography
• Geomorphology

Selected publications

• 13. (Ad)Just Recovery: Landscape, Climate, and Adaptation in Eastern North Carolina

  Columbia University Press eBooks · 2025-11-28

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• In Search of Virtual Connectedness

  Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education · 2022-09-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  None provided

  PublisherDOI

• Geospatial Analysis and Land Suitability for “FloodWise” Practices: Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation in Eastern, Rural North Carolina

  Land · 2022-09-07 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  As the global climate continues to change, extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent. Subsequently, flooding and standing water disrupt and negatively impact many communities. The use of nature-based solutions (NBS) is an innovative and sustainable approach to flood mitigation. Geospatial research and applications have developed rapidly to identify and map broad regions in the world, as well as specific locations for NBS. We conducted a geospatial analysis in ArcGIS Pro to identify areas where NBS, referred to as “FloodWise” practices in this study, could be sited in the North Carolina Coastal Plain to strategically reduce flooding and provide water quality and habitat improvement. The study provides a spatially explicit application of integrated remote sensing, scientific and professional knowledge, and extant databases to screen diverse variables and identify potential specific NBS opportunities and sites. The practices modeled in this study are wetland restoration, afforestation, agroforestry, “water farming” (which uses a combination of dry dams and berms), and stream restoration. Maps of specific areas and tracts in the county for the NBS practices in Robeson County, North Carolina were developed based on the land ownership size, biophysical characteristics, current land uses, and water management opportunities. Land suitability locations revealed in these maps can be used in future resilience planning initiatives to reduce floodwaters on North Carolina’s rural landscapes. The geospatial analysis methodologies employed in this study can be followed to model NBS locations for flood reduction and water storage opportunities in other counties in Eastern North Carolina or other regions with similar topographies and land-type characteristics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Estimating Changes in Peak Flow and Associated Reductions in Flooding Resulting from Implementing Natural Infrastructure in the Neuse River Basin, North Carolina, USA

  Water · 2022 · 10 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Geology
  • Geography

  As the frequency of more intense storms increases and concerns grow regarding the use of dams and levees, the focus has shifted to natural infrastructure (NI) for flood mitigation. NI has shown some success at small scales; however, little work has been carried out at the large watershed scale during extreme events. Three NI measures (afforestation, water farming, and flood control wetlands) were evaluated in the Neuse River Basin of eastern North Carolina. Detailed geospatial opportunity and hydrologic modeling of the measures were conducted in three subwatersheds of the basin and results were extrapolated to other subwatersheds. NI opportunity was greater and associated modeled peak flow reductions were larger for two subwatersheds located in the lower portion of the basin, where there is less development and flatter land slopes. Peak flow reductions varied spatially depending on the type and placement of NI combined with the hydraulic and morphologic characteristics of the stream network. Extrapolation of reductions to other subwatersheds produced a 4.4% reduction in peak flow for the 100 year storm at the outlet of the river basin in Kinston as a result of water farming on 1.1%, wetlands controlling runoff from 5.7%, and afforestation of 8.4% of the river basin.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The flood reduction and water quality impacts of watershed-scale natural infrastructure implementation in North Carolina, USA

  Ecological Engineering · 2022 · 11 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Water resource management
  • Agroforestry
  PublisherDOI

• Natural Infrastructure Practices as Potential Flood Storage and Reduction for Farms and Rural Communities in the North Carolina Coastal Plain

  Sustainability · 2021 · 37 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Agroforestry
  • Water resource management

  Increased global temperatures resulting from anthropogenically induced climate changes have increased the frequency and severity of adverse weather events, including extreme rainfall events, floods, and droughts. In recent years, nature-based solutions (NBS) have been proposed to retain storm runoff temporarily and mitigate flood damages. These practices may help rural farm and forest lands to store runoff and reduce flooding on farms and downstream communities and could be incorporated into a conservation program to provide payments for these efforts, which would supplement traditional farm incomes. Despite their potential, there have been very few methodical assessments and detailed summaries of NBS to date. We identified and summarized potential flood reduction practices for the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. These include agricultural practices of (1) cover cropping/no-till farming; (2) hardpan breakup; (3) pine or (4) hardwood afforestation, and (5) agroforestry; establishing the wetland and stream practices of (6) grass and sedge wetlands and earthen retention structures, (7) forest wetland banks, and (8) stream channel restoration; and establishing new structural solutions of (9) dry dams and berms (water farming) and (10) tile drainage and water retention. These practices offer different water holding and storage capacities and costs. A mixture of practices at the farm and landscape level can be implemented for floodwater retention and attenuation and damage reduction, as well as for providing additional farm and forest ecosystem services.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• In Search of Virtual Connectedness: A Comparative Essay in the Development of New Pedagogies for Remote Learning Environments

  2020-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Barbara Doll

  North Carolina Sea Grant

  5 shared

• Madalyn E. Baldwin

  North Carolina State University

  4 shared

• Andrew Fox

  North Central State College

  4 shared

• J. Jack Kurki‐Fox

  3 shared

• Daniel E. Line

  North Carolina State University

  3 shared

• Meredith Hovis

  University of North Carolina Wilmington

  2 shared

• Ryan A. Hargrove

  2 shared

• Frederick W. Cubbage

  North Carolina State University

  2 shared

Labs

• The Alliance for Inclusive Design Practice and ResearchPI