NSF Award
2305476
Climate change is intensifying flood risks, with profound socioeconomic consequences. Equitable flood adaptation is designed to offer greater and/or more lasting benefits to overburdened communities than past projects in a warming climate. In pursuit of this goal, this Smart and Connected Communities Integrative Research Grant (SCC-IRG) project develops and tests a new paradigm of flood adaptation marked by innovation in access to, and use of, an interactive, fast flood risk simulation tool. The project aims to produce new knowledge about the role and effectiveness of collaborative models in promoting social justice and environmental well-being. Widespread adoption has the potential to make future solutions to be more time-sensitive, equitable, and effective for different communities and hazard types.<br/><br/>Flooding dynamics are complex and uncertain, decision-making is limited by social, political, and institutional constraints, and participatory processes are very time-consuming. This project brings together experts in civil engineering, adaptation sciences, and regional planning to (a) overcome technical barriers in flood risk simulation that have been limiting collaborative exploration by communities, notably the ability to predict flood impacts at fine resolution and at regional scales for a wide range of scenarios, and (b) measure if and how a new sociotechnical framework can improve outcomes such as increasing participation of marginalized populations, shortening planning timelines, and more equitably distribution of benefits and resources across groups and neighborhoods over time. Linking a digital engagement platform to a fast-response flood simulation tool could represent a breakthrough innovation for more equitably responding to climate change. The framework, if successful, could be broadly applied at neighborhood to regional scales to aid in climate change adaptation.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
