Participatory Mapping Approaches Can Enhance Data Diversity and Procedural Equity in Flood Mitigation Planning

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

1:45 PM - 2:00 PM Alaska Daylight Time (AKDT)

Room: Room 6

Author(s)

Michelle Hummel, PhD

Associate Professor
University of Texas at Arlington, United States

Co-Author(s)

Antwi Akom

Center for Vulnerable Populations, University of California, San Francisco; UCSF/SFSU Social Innovation and Universal Opportunity Lab; Digital Organizing Power Building and Engagement Labs; Streetwyze, United States
Tessa Cruz

UCSF/SFSU Social Innovation and Universal Opportunity Lab; Digital Organizing Power Building and Engagement Labs; Streetwyze, United States

Co-Author (not attending)(s)

Alauna Jaden Torres

Digital Organizing Power Building and Engagement Labs; Streetwyze, United States
Alyssa Chow

Digital Organizing Power Building and Engagement Labs; Streetwyze, United States
Analena Hope

UCSF/SFSU Social Innovation and Universal Opportunity Lab; Digital Organizing Power Building and Engagement Labs; Streetwyze, United States
Ayanna White

Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization, United States

Abstract Submission: As climate change and expanding development drive increased flood risk globally, communities are grappling with how to effectively and equitably adapt their infrastructure and policies to reduce impacts to populations and the build environment. Historically, most flood mitigation and infrastructure planning efforts relied on top-down approaches spanning data collection, hazard characterization, and alternatives assessment, often without substantial engagement of community members. Even today, the needs and voices of underrepresented groups are often overlooked in infrastructure planning processes, presenting a challenge for achieving equitable risk reduction. In this presentation, we examine how participatory digital mapping tools can be leveraged to support resilience planning in communities facing repetitive flood hazards. We present results from a pilot study that deployed one such mapping tool, called Streetwyze, in underserved neighborhoods in Gulfport, Mississippi, to measure flood exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. We find that data collection and resilience planning efforts that leverage participatory mapping tools can bring to light local-scale factors that contribute to flood risk and, in doing so, enhance the diversity of data available to community champions, elected officials, and infrastructure managers. The resulting information can enhance existing approaches for infrastructure planning and management and improve procedural equity by engaging diverse populations in decision-making processes.

Learning Objectives/Expected Outcome (Optional) :