Landscape

214 Pages·2017·7.25 MB·English

Department of Environmental Studies

DISSERTATION COMMITTEE PAGE

The undersigned have examined the dissertation titled:
Landscape Visualization: Influence on Community Engagement for Climate Resilience
presented by Christa Daniels, candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and hereby
certify it is accepted*

James Gruber, Ph.D., Department Chair, Core Faculty and Director of the Doctoral Program in
Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England

Jean Kayira, Ph.D., Core Faculty, Core Faculty and Associate Director Doctoral Program in
Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England

Stephen Sheppard, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning
Program Director, Bachelor of Urban Forestry, University of British Columbia

Defense Date: January 27, 2018

Date Approved by all committee members: February 21, 2018

Date Submitted to the Registrar’s Office: February 21, 2018

*Signatures are on file with the Registrar’s Office at Antioch University New England.

Landscape Visualization: Influence on Engagement for Climate Resilience

by

Christa Daniels

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Environmental Studies
at
Antioch University New England
2018
ã 2018 by Christa Daniels
All rights reserved
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Acknowledgments

Thank you to Dr. James Gruber for his significant support to make this dissertation
possible. Thank you also to Dr. Jean Kayira and Dr. Stephen Sheppard for your extremely
valuable guidance and expertise throughout the process.
Completing this work would have been all the more difficult were it not for the support
and expertise from Dr. Liz Willey, who helped ensure the statistical analysis was valid and
analyzed with care.
Thank you to all of the project partners from the San Mateo County, California,
visualization project: Climate Access, San Mateo County, FEMA Region IX, OWLIZED,
Autodesk, NOAA, San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Susanne Moser
Research and Consulting, and Antioch University. Especially to Susanne Moser who acted as a
mentor throughout the entire project and graciously transferred her incredible wealth of
knowledge and advice throughout the data collection and analyses. In addition, a big thank you
to Cara Pike who believed in my ability to add value and enabled me to work on this research
project. She is a leading role model in this field for taking current research and creating positive
change for our communities. Also, thank you to San Mateo County staff, in particular Hillary
Papendick, for her hard work and assistance with the project.
Thank you as well to all the participants in the San Mateo focus group events. Without
your engagement and support, the qualitative results that help inform the findings would not
have occurred.
Thank you to the Antioch University New England community and cohort. Many of you
asked critical questions and provided valuable feedback for me to continue developing the
research design into something that would be of value to the academic and applied community.
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I also need to mention my gratitude for my supportive family, my wonderful husband
Corey Daniels, and mother, Nancy Koehler, for sustaining me throughout the long process. I also
want to mention my father Dr. Brian Koehler and stepmom Dr. Julie Kipp, who always
encouraged me to continue with my academic career and pursue my doctorate.
Lastly, thank you to my son Cian Daniels, who was my inspiration for getting through the
process and reaching my goal. I will always support your inquisition of knowledge and help you
pursue your passion and dreams.
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Abstract
Research suggests an “Adaptation Deficit” exists in the realm of climate change mitigation and
adaptation. There is a lack of climate adaptation goals, policies and projects implemented at the
local level. Climate resilience relies on effective public engagement to ensure implementation.
This type of engagement includes: (1) being aware of the issue and solutions; (2) feeling
concerned about the problem; and (3) taking action. This research explores the impact of in situ
3D landscape visualization coupled with meaningful dialogue, on public engagement for climate
change resilience. A mixed methods approach was used to undertake this research study using
landscape visualization in an experiential outdoor setting in San Mateo County, California. San
Mateo County was chosen as an optimal site for this research because of efforts underway to
plan and prepare for sea level rise across the region. Since the research was part of a larger
project with numerous stakeholders, many characteristics of Action Research (AR) were
incorporated into the research design. This included working with local, regional, state and
federal stakeholders to choose the exact site location, target audience, and project objectives to
be accomplished from the research study. The overall goal of the project was to increase
community concern about sea level rise and prompt target audience members to take an active
role in their community on climate change adaptation. The research component of the project
tested the use of landscape visualization to gauge impacts on concern and engagement levels,
along with correlations between age, concern and engagement. The landscape visualization
process used 3D imagery loaded into two viewfinders, called OWLS, that depicted current and
future sea-level rise scenarios along with two possible solutions for Coyote Beach recreational
area. Findings indicate that landscape visualization increases concern levels in participants that
harbor low to no concern about existing sea-level rise, high tides, and storms. There was a
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statistically significant relationship between high concern levels and higher levels of engagement
on the issue of climate adaptation. Lastly, data were collected to understand barriers to climate
change engagement and adaptation and consider solutions that could overcome specific barriers
identified. Using visual imagery along with meaningful dialogue allowed for a deep exploration
of these barriers and solutions to be explored. Further research is needed to further test the
application of landscape visualization along with meaningful dialogue on the issue of climate
change in other locations, and to explore applicability in different settings and with different
audiences. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository
and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://edt.ohiolink.edu
Keywords: climate change adaptation, climate engagement, climate resilience, climate
barriers, landscape visualization
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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................viii
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1
OVERALL APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 5
PREFACE FOR CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER 2: A LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE USE OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION
TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE ............................................. 9
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. 10
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 11
WHAT IS CLIMATE RESILIENCE? ............................................................................................. 12
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE.................................................................... 13
Preconditions for Engagement: Transforming Barriers to Enablers of Action ................... 15
Concern ......................................................................................................................... 16
Efficacy ......................................................................................................................... 18
LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION: IS IT THE MISSING LINK FOR ENGAGEMENT? .............................. 19
Integrating Dialogue into Landscape Visualization ........................................................... 21
Community Awareness to Action (C2A) Framework .......................................................... 23
Examples of Landscape Visualization ................................................................................ 26
Greenest City Conversation Project. .............................................................................. 28
Climate Change and the Public Sphere in Canberra and Goulbourn ............................... 29
Citizens’ Panel on Edmonton’s Energy and Climate Challenges .................................... 30
Kimberley Climate Adaptation Project (KCAP). ........................................................... 31
Local Climate Change Visioning Process (LCCV)......................................................... 32
Marin County, California (Here Now Us). ..................................................................... 34
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 36
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 38
REFERENCES FOR CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................ 40
PREFACE FOR CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................ 51
CHAPTER 3: LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION IN SAN MATEO COUNTY: INFLUENCE
ON ENGAGEMENT FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE............................................................... 52
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. 53
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 54
METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 55
Research Design ............................................................................................................... 58
Site selection ................................................................................................................. 59
Visual Imagery .............................................................................................................. 60
Scenario 1 "Current Condition" ................................................................................. 62
Scenario 2 "Sea Level Rise/No Action" ..................................................................... 63
Scenario 3 "Possible Response Option to 2-Feet Sea Level Rise" .............................. 64
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Scenario 4 "Response Option to 4 Feet Sea Level Rise" ............................................. 65
Target audiences............................................................................................................ 70
Participants’ actions ...................................................................................................... 72
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 73
OWL experience & survey: ........................................................................................... 73
Focus group sessions with selected target audiences. ..................................................... 75
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 78
Ethical Considerations, Limitations, and Validity of Research Design ............................... 80
Ethical considerations .................................................................................................... 80
Limitations .................................................................................................................... 81
Validity ......................................................................................................................... 82
RESULTS ................................................................................................................................ 82
Impact on Concern Levels ................................................................................................. 84
Change in concern for users........................................................................................... 85
Focus groups and levels of concern ............................................................................... 88
Lack of personally relevant environment. ...................................................................... 90
Confusion due to answer sequencing and transitions ..................................................... 91
OWL technical problems ............................................................................................... 92
Useful tool ..................................................................................................................... 92
Impact on Support for Immediate Community Action ......................................................... 92
Support for community action and sea-level rise concern .............................................. 93
Impact on Engagement Level ............................................................................................. 95
Engagement and concern levels ................................................................................. 96
User Age Range ................................................................................................................ 97
Age and concern levels .................................................................................................. 98
Age and engagement levels ......................................................................................... 101
DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................... 103
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 111
REFERENCES FOR CHAPTER THREE ....................................................................................... 113
PREFACE FOR CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................... 119
CHAPTER 4: ENGAGEMENT FOR LOCAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE:
TRANSFORMING BARRIERS INTO ACTION ............................................................... 120
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... 121
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 122
RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................................. 124
Site and Participant Selection.......................................................................................... 126
Site selection ............................................................................................................... 126
Participant selection .................................................................................................... 127
Methods of Collecting Data ............................................................................................. 128
Focus group discussions. ............................................................................................. 128
ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................ 132
Limitations and Ethical Considerations ........................................................................... 133
FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................. 133
Organizational Collaboration and Coordination ............................................................. 134
Leadership ...................................................................................................................... 136
Regulations and Policies ................................................................................................. 137