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This chapter addresses the role of visualisation tools within participatory processes in bringing climate change science to the local level, in order to increase people’s awareness of climate change and contribute to decision-making and policy change. The urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change is becoming more widely understood in scientific and some policy circles, but public awareness and policy change are lagging well behind. Emerging visualisation theory suggests that landscape visualisations showing local landscapes in fairly realistic perspective views may offer special advantages in bringing the projected consequences of climate change home to people in a compelling manner. This chapter draws on and summarizes a unique body of research in Canada, applying and evaluating a local climate change visioning approach in five diverse case study communities across the country. This new participatory process was developed to localize, spatialize, and visualize climate change implications, using landscape visualisation in combination with geospatial and other types of information. The visioning process was successful in raising community awareness, increasing people’s sense of urgency, and articulating for the first time holistic community options in mitigating and adapting to climate change at the local level. In some cases the process led to new local policy outcomes and actions. Such methods, if widely implemented in enhanced planning processes, could facilitate uptake of climate change science and potentially accelerate policy change and action on climate change. However, moving from more traditional types of science information and planning to an approach which can engage emotions with visual imagery, will require guidelines and training to address ethical and professional dilemmas in community engagement and planning at the landscape level.
Stephen R. J. Sheppard; Alison Shaw; David Flanders; Sarah Burch; Olaf Schroth. Bringing Climate Change Science to the Landscape Level: Canadian Experience in Using Landscape Visualisation Within Participatory Processes for Community Planning. Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture 2013, 121 -143.
AMA StyleStephen R. J. Sheppard, Alison Shaw, David Flanders, Sarah Burch, Olaf Schroth. Bringing Climate Change Science to the Landscape Level: Canadian Experience in Using Landscape Visualisation Within Participatory Processes for Community Planning. Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture. 2013; ():121-143.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStephen R. J. Sheppard; Alison Shaw; David Flanders; Sarah Burch; Olaf Schroth. 2013. "Bringing Climate Change Science to the Landscape Level: Canadian Experience in Using Landscape Visualisation Within Participatory Processes for Community Planning." Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture , no. : 121-143.
While the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, provides guidelines for flood risk management, it is local governments’ responsibility to delineate their own flood vulnerability, assess their risk, and integrate these with planning policies to implement adaptive action. However, barriers such as the lack of locally specific data and public perceptions about adaptation options mean that local governments must address the need for adaptation planning within a context of scientific uncertainty, while building public support for difficult choices on flood-related climate policy and action. This research demonstrates a process to model, visualize and evaluate potential flood impacts and adaptation options for the community of Delta, in Metro Vancouver, across economic, social and environmental perspectives. Visualizations in 2D and 3D, based on hydrological modeling of breach events for existing dike infrastructure, future sea level rise and storm surges, are generated collaboratively, together with future adaptation scenarios assessed against quantitative and qualitative indicators. This ‘visioning package’ is being used with staff and a citizens’ Working Group to assess the performance, policy implications and social acceptability of the adaptation strategies. Recommendations based on the experience of the initiative are provided that can facilitate sustainable future adaptation actions and decision-making in Delta and other jurisdictions.
Sara Barron; Glenis Canete; Jeff Carmichael; David Flanders; Ellen Pond; Stephen Sheppard; Kristi Tatebe. A Climate Change Adaptation Planning Process for Low-Lying, Communities Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise. Sustainability 2012, 4, 2176 -2208.
AMA StyleSara Barron, Glenis Canete, Jeff Carmichael, David Flanders, Ellen Pond, Stephen Sheppard, Kristi Tatebe. A Climate Change Adaptation Planning Process for Low-Lying, Communities Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise. Sustainability. 2012; 4 (9):2176-2208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSara Barron; Glenis Canete; Jeff Carmichael; David Flanders; Ellen Pond; Stephen Sheppard; Kristi Tatebe. 2012. "A Climate Change Adaptation Planning Process for Low-Lying, Communities Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise." Sustainability 4, no. 9: 2176-2208.