Planning: CHIRRP: Community-Driven Research Partnerships to Mitigate Risks and Impacts of Coastal Flooding

This project investigates the social and environmental dynamics affecting vulnerability to coastal flooding and engages communities in approaches to mitigate the impacts of flood inundation and water quality degradation. The increasing prevalence of flood events in coastal regions has resulted in an increased risk from direct effects of flooding (loss of homes and property) and indirect effects from exposure to biological and chemical contaminants in flood waters, both of which are exacerbated by climate change. This project will address these challenges through a combination community engagement, citizen science and environmental monitoring. Researchers work closely with community representatives to identify salient hazards facing communities and practical solutions to address them. The goal of this research is to investigate the negative impacts of coastal flooding and to establish long-term partnerships that directly engage communities in identifying locally appropriate solutions. This project involves a series of workshops and community meetings to develop plans for an environmental monitoring system taking into consideration the needs, goals and capacity of local communities. Oral histories are developed to understand the complex cultural contexts that are critical to identification of locally appropriate solutions to coastal flooding. Participant observation and informal interviews are used to investigate processes of migration in the region. A comprehensive report will be produced for municipal and community partners that provides a model for enhancing the resilience of communities to coastal flooding. 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.