Research

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Offshore Wind Energy

What are communities' and ocean users' experiences and concerns with offshore wind development? How can governments and developers respond to these issues and help communities through the energy transition?

Marine Governance

How do governments, industry and civil society organizations work together to manage coastal and ocean environments? How do practitioners collaborate and communicate across jurisdictions, sectors and disciplines to govern marine space?

Blue Economy

What are communities' and ocean users' experiences of and concerns with the new blue economy? How do we govern the blue economy and help communities navigate this new era of marine-based economic development?

Ocean Use Conflicts and Ocean Multi-Use

How do traditional and new ocean uses interact, and how do users experience these interactions? How do we best manage ocean uses to minimize conflict and maximize synergistic multiple use of the ocean?

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Select Research Publications

Smythe, T., S. Howley, E. Diamond and D. Bidwell. 2025. “Communication Silos: A Governance Network Approach to the Offshore Wind Planning and Permitting Process.” Energy Research and Social Science 129: 104328.

Korein, E., S. Swett, T. Smythe, D. Bidwell, J. Firestone and K. Leonard. 2025. “Uncertainty Confounds Justice: The Offshore Wind ‘Devil They Don’t Know’ in the Northeast United States.” Journal of Environmental Planning and Policy.

Howley, S., T. Smythe, E. Diamond and D. Bidwell. 2025. “Perceived Misinformation in Offshore Wind: Insights from Participants in Northeastern U.S. Offshore Wind Planning and Permitting Processes.” Energy Research and Social Science 140: 104403.

Smythe, T., E. Korein, S. Swett, D. Bidwell, J. Firestone and K. Leonard. 2025. “Watered Down Justice: Perceptions of the Offshore Wind Energy Transition in Northeastern Communities in the U.S.” Energy Research and Social Science 120: 103919.

Smythe, T., L. Cass and D. Bidwell. 2024. “Conflict or Coexistence? An Analysis of Multi-use of Marine Waters in Rhode Island, USA.” Marine Policy 173: 106545.

Smythe, T. 2024. “Conflict or Coordination? An analysis of the Southern New England offshore wind - fisheries policy network.” Marine Policy 163: 106106.

Diamond, E., N. Damato, T. Smythe and D. Bidwell. 2024. “Legitimacy through representation?: Media sources and discourse of offshore wind development.” Frontiers in Communication 9: 1401172.

Diamond, E., N. Damato, D. Bidwell, and T. Smythe. 2024. “Framing the wind: Media coverage of offshore wind in the Northeastern United States.” Environmental Communication.

Bidwell, D., T. Smythe and J.G. Tyler. 2023. “Anglers’ support for an offshore wind farm: Fishing impacts or clean energy symbolism.” Marine Policy 151: 105568, May 2023.

Silva, A., M. Chaji, T. ten Brink, S. Ebbin, N. Trumbull, T. Smythe, and E. Thunburg. Fisheries Socioeconomics. Chapter in Hogan, F., B. Hooker, B. Jensen, L. Johnston, A. Lipsky, E. Methratta, A. Silva, and A. Hawkins, Eds. March 2023. Fisheries and Offshore Wind Interactions: Synthesis of Science. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-291.

Silva, A., F. Conway, T. Smythe, T. Johnson, M. Chaji, T. ten Brink, and S. Ebbin. Fisheries Sociocultural Effects. Chapter in Hogan, F., B. Hooker, B. Jensen, L. Johnston, A. Lipsky, E. Methratta, A. Silva, and A. Hawkins, Eds. March 2023. Fisheries and Offshore Wind Interactions: Synthesis of Science. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-291.

Smythe, T., D. Bidwell and J.G. Tyler. 2021. “Optimistic with reservations: The impacts of the United States’ first offshore wind farm on the recreational fishing experience.” Marine Policy 27, May 2021.

Tyler, J. G., D. Bidwell, T. Smythe and S. Trandafir. 2021. “Preferences for community benefits for offshore wind development projects: a case study of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, U.S.” Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning: June 16 2021.

Smythe, T., D. Bidwell, A. Moore, H. Smith and J. McCann. 2020. “Beyond the Beach: Tradeoffs in Tourism and Recreation at the First Offshore Wind Farm in the United States.” Energy Research and Social Science 70, December 2020.

Gilbert, C., H. Smith, D. Bidwell, T. Smythe, A. Moore, J. McCann & E. Miller. 2019. “Gatekeeping and communities in energy transition: A study of the Block Island Wind Farm. Environmental Communication: 24 Jan 2019.

Smythe, T., R. Thompson and C. Garcia-Quijano. 2019. “The Importance of Brokers in Collaborative Ecosystem-Based Management of Social-Ecological Systems.” Coastal Management Journal 47:5, 473-491.

Smythe, T. and J. McCann. 2019. “Achieving integration in the practice of MSP: lessons from the U.S. experience.” Ocean and Coastal Management, 167: 197-207. Invited submission to special edition, M. Gilek, H. Calado, K. Gee, S. Kidd and F. Saunders, guest editors.

Saunders, F., J. Gilek, J. Day, B. Hassler, J. McCann, and T. Smythe. 2019. “Examining the role of integration in marine spatial planning: Towards an analytical framework to understand challenges in diverse settings.” Ocean and Coastal Management 169: 1-9. Invited submission to special edition, M. Gilek, H. Calado, K. Gee, S. Kidd and F. Saunders, guest editors.

Smith, H., T. Smythe, A. Moore, D. Bidwell and J. McCann. 2018. “The social dynamics of turbine tourism: Introducing a mixed-methods approach to the study of the first U.S. offshore wind farm.” Energy Research & Social Science 45: 307-317.

Smythe, T. and J. McCann. 2018. “Lessons learned in marine governance: Case studies of marine spatial planning practice in the U.S.” Marine Policy 94: 227-237.

Smythe, T. 2017. “Marine Spatial Planning as a Tool for Regional Ocean Governance? An Analysis of the New England Ocean Planning Network. Ocean and Coastal Management 135: 11-24.

Smythe, T. “The Impacts of Hurricane Sandy on the Port of New York and New Jersey: Lessons Learned for Port Recovery and Resilience.” Book chapter in Ng, A., Becker, A., Cahoon, S., Chen, S., Yang, Z. and Earl, P. Eds. 2015. Climate Change and Adaptation Planning for Ports. New York: Routledge.

Smythe, T. and R. Thompson. 2014. “Conceptualizing Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management: A Mental Models Approach.” Society and Natural Resources 0:1-19 (online).

Smythe, T., R. Thompson and C. Garcia-Quijano. 2014. “The Inner Workings of Collaboration in Marine Ecosystem-Based Management: A Social Network Analysis Approach.” Marine Policy 50: 117-125.

RESEARCH