The Bicycle Disaster Resilience Hub

Katherine Idziorek, AICP, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Katherine Idziorek is a community-engaged researcher who examines the role of social networks and social infrastructure in community-scale resilience and disaster preparedness. Bridging the disciplines of hazard mitigation, urban geography, and urban planning, Katherine’s research explores the role of place-based resources in supporting community resilience and wellbeing. 

Dr. Idziorek leads the Charlotte Heat Mappers research team, which aims to better understand the varying effects of extreme heat across Charlotte communities and to work with local partners to mitigate heat impacts on community health and wellbeing. She also serves as coordinator for UNC Charlotte’s interdisciplinary Urban Studies Minor and co-advises the 49er Urban Planners (49er UP) student club.

Teaching and research interests

  • Community resilience
  • Urban heat mapping and mitigation
  • Disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation
  • Social networks and social infrastructure
  • Urban design and planning
  • Visual communication and cartographic design
  • Multimodal transportation planning

Recent Publications

  1. Abramson, D. B., Kirk, B., Idziorek, K., Born, B., & Berney, R. (2026). How Right-of-Way Adaptations Support Urban Resilience: Pandemic Streateries and Social Interactions in Seattle’s University District. Journal of the American Planning Association, 92(2), 237–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2025.2580475
  2. Qiu, Q., Chen, C., Idziorek, K., & Wong, S. D. (2026). The dynamics of bicycles for disaster recovery and relief. Scientific Reports, 16(1), 3903.
  3. Eastin, M. D., Idziorek, K., Zuniga, M., Shoemaker, D., Wiswell, J., & Croland, A. (2025). Outcomes from the 2024 Charlotte Urban Heat Mapping Campaign. 105th Annual AMS Meeting 2025, 105, 446355. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025AMS…10546355E/abstract
  4. Idziorek, K. (2025). Anticipated willingness to share resources in a disaster scenario: The role of social ties. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2025.2511029
  5. Li, Z., Idziorek, K., Chen, A., & Chen, C. (2025). Untapped capacity of place-based peer-to-peer resource sharing for community resilience. Nature Cities, 2(1), 47–57.
  6. Robinson, A. M., Eastin, M. D., Idziorek, K., Joshi, V., & Konrad, C. E. (2025). An evaluation of intra-university campus temperature variability under variable synoptic weather conditions using mobile transects. International Journal of Biometeorology, 69(2), 411–425. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02821-3
  7. Idziorek, K., & Zuñiga, M. E. (2024). Achieving 10-Min Neighborhoods in Underinvested Communities: Understanding Transportation Opportunities and Challenges through Resident Stories. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2678(12), 1160–1171. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981241250022
  8. Idziorek, K., Abramson, D. B., Kitagawa, N., Yamamoto, T., & Chen, C. (2023). Factors Influencing Willingness to Share Resources Postdisaster: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between US and Japanese Communities. Natural Hazards Review, 24(4), 04023044. https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1836
  9. Carver, E. H., Dunn, P. T., Idziorek, K., Nguyễn, L. T., & Umbanhowar, E. (2022). Making sense of an emergent crisis: The case of the pandemic urbanism symposium. In The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim (pp. 869–880). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003033530-73/making-sense-emergent-crisis-evan-carver-peter-dunn-katherine-idziorek-lan-nguy%E1%BB%85n-elizabeth-umbanhowar
  10. Idziorek, K., Chen, C., & Abramson, D. B. (2021). Attitudes and trust in leveraging integrated sociotechnical systems for enhancing community adaptive capacity: Phase IV: Meeting everyday needs in a disaster scenario: The potential for resource sharing through local networks. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/65873
  11. Idziorek, K. J. (2021). Social networks and disaster preparedness at the community level: The role of social ties and social infrastructure in connecting people with essential resources. University of Washington. https://search.proquest.com/openview/a74f8ff36d11f5ecfcf6590a7745178f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
  12. Grossman, A., & Idziorek, K. (2020). Toward Universal Access: A Case Study in the Los Angeles and Puget Sound Regions. https://trid.trb.org/View/1751175
  13. Idziorek, K., & Chalana, M. (2019). Managing change: Seattle’s 21st century urban renaissance. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 12(3), 320–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2019.1598471
  14. Idziorek, K. (2018). Messy Urbanism: Understanding the “Other” Cities of Asia , edited by Manish Chalana and Jeffrey Hou: (2016). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. 268 pages. $75.00 (hardcover). Journal of the American Planning Association, 84(2), 203–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2018.1429761
  15. Li, Z., Idziorek, K., Chen, A., & Chen, C. (n.d.). Untapped Capacity of Place-based Peer-to-Peer. Retrieved April 16, 2026, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhengyang-Li-4/publication/386331378_Untapped_capacity_of_place-based_peer-to-peer_resource_sharing_for_community_resilience/links/67be9b86645ef274a494c4e7/Untapped-capacity-of-place-based-peer-to-peer-resource-sharing-for-community-resilience.pdf