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Evaluating Collective Effects: A Participatory Approach to Mapping Public Information About Water Issues in an Uncertain and Politicized Context

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Geospatial Tools for Urban Water Resources

Part of the book series: Geotechnologies and the Environment ((GEOTECH,volume 7))

Abstract

This chapter focuses on developing theoretically defensible and politically sensitive metrics through a participatory geographic information system (PGIS). This is particularly useful in cases where information related to a water governance problem is distributed across a variety of organizations in a variety of formats. The chapter describes a participatory mapping exercise relate to public outreach and then compare differences in available water information availability across metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. The PGIS process led to a different set of outcomes than conventional approaches to GIS data collection and analysis. Each map uses a different combination of data aggregation (census tract, zip code, or distance buffer) and accounting method (a count or an economic proxy). This accommodates diverse data sources and participant concerns while also addressing conventional GIS concerns like the modifiable aerial unit problem.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Following Carr and Wilkinson (2005), politics are defined as the policy, legislative, management, and resource allocation decisions. In this case, the resource being allocated is public information about water supply and water quality in metropolitan Phoenix, AZ.

  2. 2.

    PGIS often includes processes through which stakeholders provide data and define mapping outcomes, but can also enlist participants in designing technical systems for non-expert access to data. Here, the focus is mainly on PGIS via the first mechanism.

  3. 3.

    GPCD stands for “Gallons per Capita per Day” and is the standard metric against which conservation success is measured in the active management areas under the Arizona Department of Water Resources. However, as the quotation points out several cities in metropolitan Phoenix operate under an alternative policy that mandates additional public information programs in lieu of meeting water use reduction targets (Hirt et al. 2008).

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES-0345945 Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC) and Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS-0803102. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendation expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Thanks to Bill Edwards and Ann Kinzig.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Bethany B. Cutts

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  1. Bethany B. Cutts
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Correspondence to Bethany B. Cutts .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Geography & Planning, University of Toledo, Snyder Memorial 300, Toledo, 43606, Ohio, USA

    Patrick L. Lawrence

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Cutts, B.B. (2013). Evaluating Collective Effects: A Participatory Approach to Mapping Public Information About Water Issues in an Uncertain and Politicized Context. In: Lawrence, P. (eds) Geospatial Tools for Urban Water Resources. Geotechnologies and the Environment, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4734-0_3

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