Contact information
Email: dhenstra@uwaterloo.ca
Areas of specialization
- Public administration
- Public policy
- Local government
- Multilevel governance
Professor Henstra is a governance expert and public policy strategist specializing in complex risks like climate change and emergency management. Through his Climate Risk Research Group, he leads applied, interdisciplinary research that informs national policy on topics such as climate resilience, critical infrastructure protection, and flood risk governance. With more than two decades of experience in applied policy analysis, Henstra bridges the gap between research and practice, delivering clear, evidence-based solutions to governments, institutions, and communities navigating risk. His work is guided by a commitment to institutional realism and the practical improvement of public outcomes.
Recent publications
- 2025. “Assessing the Environmental Justice Implications of Seismic Risk in Ottawa-Gatineau and Montreal Metropolitan Areas,” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 123(1) :1-27. [w/ Liton Chakraborty; Jennifer A. Spinney; Daniele Malomo; Jason Thistlethwaite; Kasra Motlaghzadeh; Sina M. Jahangir; Sheldon Andrews; Bora Pulatsu]
- 2025. “Navigating Land Use after Managed Retreat: Decisions Facing Local Governments in the Post-Buyout Environment.” Environmental Hazards, OnlineFirst. [w/ Shaieree Cottar, Jason Thistlethwaite, Brent Doberstein and Johanna Wandel]
- 2025. “Flood Adaptation Policy Alignment with Resident Perceptions of Resilience in Vancouver, British Columbia,” Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, OnlineFirst. [w/ Jacob Ventura, Greg Oulahen, Calvin Nguyen, Carrie L. Mitchell and Jason Thistlethwaite]
- 2025. “Economic Exposure of Canadian Residential Properties to Flooding,” Journal of Flood Risk Management, 18(1): 1-14. [w/ Gabriel Morin, Mathieu Boudreault, Jason Thistlethwaite, Michael Bourdeau-Brien, Jacob Chenette and Jonathan Raikes]
- 2024. “Evaluating a Public-Private Data-Sharing Platform for Improving Flood Insurance Availability and Affordability,” Regional Environmental Change, 24(102): 1-14. [w/ Andrea Minano and Jason Thistlethwaite]
- 2024. “Competing in the Planning Marketplace: An Analysis of Qualifications Demanded by Municipal Planning Recruiters,” Journal of Planning Education and Research, 44(2): 853-863. [w/ Dave Guyadeen]
- 2024. “Mapping Current and Future Flood Exposure Using a 5-Metre Flood Model and Climate Change Projections,” Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 24(2): 699-714. [w/ Connor Darlington, Jonathan Raikes, Jason Thistlethwaite and Emma K. Raven]
- 2024. “Conceptualizing and Evaluating the Role of a Data Platform for Strengthening Flood Risk Governance,” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 103 (March): 1-15 [w/ Andrea Minano and Jason Thistlethwaite.
Current projects
- Policy Design for Climate-Resilient Housing
Funded through a SSHRC Insight Grant, this project involves spatial analysis of the physical exposure of housing and property values to climate-related hazards. The team is identifying and evaluating policy instruments to increase the resilience of new and existing housing in a changing climate.
- Effective Governance Arrangements for Climate Resilient Infrastructure
Funded through a SSHRC Insight Grant, this project evaluates governance arrangements to achieve critical infrastructure (CI) resilience in a changing climate. It combines spatial analysis and comparative case studies to assess CI resilience in five sectors: health care, public safety, government services, finance and transportation.
- Flood Risk Governance in a Changing Climate
Funded through a Network Investigator Grant from the MEOPAR Network and a SSHRC Insight Grant, this project analyzes the effectiveness of Canada’s flood risk governance arrangements. Using climate change-adjusted flood maps produced by the expert hazard modelling firm JBA Risk Management, the team is engaging in Risk Dialogues with stakeholders to identify flood resilience strategies.
Courses taught
PSCI 302 - Local Government
PSCI 331 - Public Administration
PSCI 334 - Public Policy
PS 618 - Public Policy Development