The sketch map tool facilitates the assessment of OpenStreetMap data for participatory mapping

A worldwide increase in the number of people and areas affected by disasters has led to more and more approaches that focus on the integration of local knowledge into disaster risk reduction processes. The research at hand shows a method for formalizing this local knowledge via sketch maps in the context of flooding. The Sketch Map Tool enables not only the visualization of this local knowledge and analyses of OpenStreetMap data quality but also the communication of the results of these analyses in an understandable way. Since the tool will be open-source and several analyses are made automatically, the tool also offers a method for local governments in areas where historic data or financial means for flood mitigation are limited. Example analyses for two cities in Brazil show the functionalities of the tool and allow the evaluation of its applicability. Results depict that the fitness-for-purpose analysis of the OpenStreetMap data reveals promising results to identify whether the sketch map approach can be used in a certain area or if citizens might have problems with marking their flood experiences. In this way, an intrinsic quality analysis is incorporated into a participatory mapping approach. Additionally, different paper formats offered for printing enable not only individual mapping but also group mapping. Future work will focus on advancing the automation of all steps of the tool to allow members of local governments without specific technical knowledge to apply the Sketch Map Tool for their own study areas

Communicating and Co-Producing Information with Stakeholders: Examples of Participatory Mapping Approaches Related to Sea Level Rise Risks and Impacts

This chapter discusses practical approaches for using participatory mapping as a tool to visualize and communicate sea level rise (SLR) and climate change risks, to share information about the vulnerability to, and threats of, climate change, and to co-produce knowledge with stakeholders. The examples presented in this chapter are from demonstrated applications in communities in Virginia (USA) that involve participatory mapping and that utilize a web-Geographic Information System (GIS). The web-GIS is innovatively combined with other technologies and participatory processes to create low-cost high-tech approaches so that even people with little to no knowledge of GIS can interact with maps and can contribute to knowledge creation in the complex issues of SLR and climate change

Assessing the positional accuracy of perceptual landscape data: A study from Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

Online GIS-based applications that combine mapping and public participation to collect citizens' voices on their surrounding environment are a way to collect original spatial data that do not already figure in authoritative data sets. However, these applications, relying on non-expert users, might produce spatial data of insufficient quality for the purpose for which they are collected. This article presents an approach for assessing the positional accuracy of vague landscape features, using the results from a map-based survey completed by a group of volunteers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The spatial section of the survey, gathering both georeferenced data and textual information on the mapping activity, allows the assessment of whether there is a correspondence between the mapped features and the intended map locations. The findings reveal a greater accuracy among participants in completing the mapping activity relating to degraded sites than to those of beauty

Exploring the communication of flood risk through online geographic visualisation

There is a growing need for effective flood risk communication in the UK, the Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM) simulator is a unique, online geovisualisation tool that presents geographical information in a unique and engaging way. This research investigated the acquisition of geographical knowledge and the quality of user experience with a PARM simulator. The research explored how user-centred testing can be used to gain feedback and critical insights on the PARM simulator content, obtaining input from both technical and non-technical audiences. This was novel as there has been minimal formal testing of this kind on 3D PARMs, but the PARM content has also never been replicated online into a ‘simulator’ in this way. Without the replication of 3D content, this enabled the isolation of issues related directly to content rather than the display model. The methodology employed during this research included interviews where participant interactions with the simulator were observed and feedback was collected (Stage 1). Recommendations made by participants in Stage 1 were then implemented, modifying the PARM Simulator content. The PARM simulator was then made public, and a feedback survey was used to gain further insights into the successes and failures of the simulator (Stage 2). The overall findings highlighted that the local story of ‘What causes Skipton to flood?’ was deemed, on average, the most engaging thematic section. The catchment-scale imagery and explanations used here should be replicated for future displays that aim to convey flood risk. The ‘Scenario Animations’ were statistically proven to be rated, on average, significantly more engaging by those who were familiar with Skipton compared to those who were not. Yet, familiarity of location did not provide users with a significant advantage in knowledge acquisition from the simulator overall, meaning that the PARM narrative was more accessible than previously expected. Graphic representation of different flood events (% AEP) was the most useful in helping users understand flood risk in Skipton, however future deigns should incorporate ‘return period’ language into the PARM narrative and an explanation of language used, especially for stand-alone displays. This research presents a list of feedback from both stages of investigation to be considered when designing and creating content for PARM displays in the future. The PARM simulator was proven to evoke behavioural change amongst users, who signed up to a flood warning scheme as a result of engaging with the simulator. Future work should consider how PARM displays can inform users on private flood risk reduction behaviours. It was also found that alternative online platforms for the simulator should be explored, such as websites, to produce a more intuitive risk communication tool that could be disseminated further to engage non-technical audiences

Broaching the brook : daylighting, community and the ‘stickiness’ of water

Over the last century, under the modern hydraulic model, waterways across the world have been heavily canalized and culverted, driven into underground pipes, drains and sewers. This hydraulic approach has hardwired an isolated water network into the urban fabric, fragmenting erstwhile patterns and dynamics of life, both human and nonhuman. Ecologically, it has been hugely damaging, reducing water quality and biotic diversity, but also socially, disconnecting citizens from the waterways that service and characterize the city. Consequently, since the 1990s, waterway restoration has become widespread as a design solution to degraded rivers and streams, reinstating compromised hydrological, geomorphological and ecological processes. Deculverting or ‘daylighting’, the focus of this paper, is a radical form of restoration, opening up subterranean, culverted waterways often forgotten by communities above ground. Yet, as this paper emphasizes, waterway restoration has tended to privilege ecological over social objectives, while public engagement in project conceptualization has been limited, conducted ‘downstream’ subsequent to planning and design stages. Restoration schemes have therefore tended to reflect the concerns of professionals rather than communities, overlooking their potential for social renewal and change. Drawing on workshop data collected through participatory mapping exercises, this paper explores the case for daylighting a culverted brook in Urmston, Greater Manchester, focusing in particular on the preferences, concerns and knowledge of local residents. The paper compares professional and community perspectives on the preferred scheme design and potential benefits of daylighting, drawing out differences and tensions between them, temporarily ‘unblackboxing’ the brook. It is ventured that daylighting can unleash the social ‘stickiness’ of water, its proclivity to draw and bind together, to revitalize the park, enhancing connection to wildness, attachment to place and sense of community. This is particularly crucial in the face of decreased local authority funding and related crises in park management

Exploring the communication of flood risk through online geographic visualisation

There is a growing need for effective flood risk communication in the UK, the Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM) simulator is a unique, online geovisualisation tool that presents geographical information in a unique and engaging way. This research investigated the acquisition of geographical knowledge and the quality of user experience with a PARM simulator. The research explored how user-centred testing can be used to gain feedback and critical insights on the PARM simulator content, obtaining input from both technical and non-technical audiences. This was novel as there has been minimal formal testing of this kind on 3D PARMs, but the PARM content has also never been replicated online into a ‘simulator’ in this way. Without the replication of 3D content, this enabled the isolation of issues related directly to content rather than the display model. The methodology employed during this research included interviews where participant interactions with the simulator were observed and feedback was collected (Stage 1). Recommendations made by participants in Stage 1 were then implemented, modifying the PARM Simulator content. The PARM simulator was then made public, and a feedback survey was used to gain further insights into the successes and failures of the simulator (Stage 2). The overall findings highlighted that the local story of ‘What causes Skipton to flood?’ was deemed, on average, the most engaging thematic section. The catchment-scale imagery and explanations used here should be replicated for future displays that aim to convey flood risk. The ‘Scenario Animations’ were statistically proven to be rated, on average, significantly more engaging by those who were familiar with Skipton compared to those who were not. Yet, familiarity of location did not provide users with a significant advantage in knowledge acquisition from the simulator overall, meaning that the PARM narrative was more accessible than previously expected. Graphic representation of different flood events (% AEP) was the most useful in helping users understand flood risk in Skipton, however future deigns should incorporate ‘return period’ language into the PARM narrative and an explanation of language used, especially for stand-alone displays. This research presents a list of feedback from both stages of investigation to be considered when designing and creating content for PARM displays in the future. The PARM simulator was proven to evoke behavioural change amongst users, who signed up to a flood warning scheme as a result of engaging with the simulator. Future work should consider how PARM displays can inform users on private flood risk reduction behaviours. It was also found that alternative online platforms for the simulator should be explored, such as websites, to produce a more intuitive risk communication tool that could be disseminated further to engage non-technical audiences

A collaborative approach for disaster risk reduction: mapping social learning with Mistawasis Nêhiyawak

Social learning and its relation to disaster risk reduction (DRR) have been increasingly highlighted in the literature. Yet, limited empirical research has hampered practical DRR applications. This thesis demonstrated social learning loops and their outcomes by reflecting on the case of 2011 flooding in Mistawasis Nêhiyawak. Using a mixed-methods research design, I explored the role of participatory processes, including communication of scientific knowledge to lay-experts, in social learning. First, I created flood extent maps for the community using spatial data and modeling techniques. In the second phase, I presented the maps in a workshop held at the community center to understand their value in regard to what people learn from them. This included deliberating not only about physical parameters of the flood but also exploring the social (and human) parameters. Hence, I used fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) as a novel method to represent the human perception of flood risk and to measure social learning. In the workshop, FCM was complemented by focus group discussions and participatory mapping. From the results, it was found that i) social learning can be measured using social sciences tools, ii) sharing experiences and stories from past events augmented learning, and iii) awareness on the role of emergency planning in DRR was found to be a significant outcome of social learning. In the growing urgency of climate uncertainties, social learning theory will be critical in helping design practical and ethical research approaches to DRR that emphasize knowledge sharing, two-way communication, and reflexivity. These will ultimately have enhanced emphasis on behavioral responses to disasters that are complementary to the investments in structural responses

A participatory web map service: the case of Theewaterskloof Dam

In recent years there have been huge advancements in GIS as a technology and as a science. Previously, GIS was critiqued as a segregating science used exclusively by geospatial experts. In recent years however,  various studies have investigated the potential for communities without geospatial training to contribute  towards, or benefit from, the use of GIS. Indeed, innovations such as open source and internet based packages like Google Earth and Open Street Map as well as mobile navigation devices have already popularised the  importance of geospatial data. This study sought to investigate one way of providing up-to-date maps to  fishermen and tourists using dams in South Africa. The paper reports on a pilot case study in the use of web based GIS service for mapping on the Theewaterskloof dam in South Africa. It presents a case study  methodology for the development and testing of a web GIS that can be optimised for smartphones and tablets so that communities can access updated information while using the dam, which is rated as dangerous, for fishing or other recreational activity

Floods, landscape modifications and population dynamics in anthropogenic coastal lowlands: the Polesine (northern Italy) case study

It is widely recognized that the complex relationship between humans, soil, and water has become increasingly complicated due to anthropogenic activities, and is further expected to worsen in the future as a result of population dynamics and climate change. The present study aims at shedding light on the multifaceted links between floods, landscape modifications, and population dynamics in anthropogenic coastal lowlands, using a large flood-prone area (the Polesine Region, northeastern Italy) as a significant case study. Based on the analysis of historical events and the results of hydraulic modeling, it is shown that human interventions on both the landscape and the subsoil have substantially altered the flooding dynamics, exacerbating hydraulic hazard. Furthermore, the combined analysis of people and assets exposure to inundation reveals that flood risk is not properly taken into account in land-use planning, nor it is properly understood by people living in areas subject to low-probability, high-impact flooding events

Practical aspects of integrated 1D2D flood modelling of urban floodplains using LiDAR topography data

Flood risk, a major risk facing mankind today, is projected to aggravate in view of the future predictions pertaining to the assessment of climate change scenarios. Traditionally, flood risk assessment exercises of urban floodplains have been carried out using 1D model as well as 1D model with storage cells. In view of the recent availability of high quality Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) topography data, availability of higher computing capacities, developments in the numerical computing techniques and the merits of an integrated 1D2D computing modelling method, integrated 1D2D modelling has gained a momentum for strategic flood risk management (SFRM) and detailed urban flood risk analysis. The research discussed in this thesis evaluates this modelling method using high quality LiDAR data in light of the results from the traditionally used 1D model with storage cells modelling method. The research study was carried out using laboratory experimental observation data, hypothetical urban floodplain data and data for a section of the River Clyde and adjoining urban floodplain in Glasgow, a major city in Scotland, UK. It concludes that, while integrated 1D2D models are of much benefit for a detailed flood risk analysis, specific attention needs to be paid towards the lateral extents of 1D model and the source of the river bank elevations while integrating it with a 2D model, particularly so when such a study is carried out for urban floodplains; and that the high quality LiDAR data significantly facilitates Strategic Flood Risk Modelling (SRFM) of urban floodplains