Collaborative Co-Design: A Participatory Approach to Green Infrastructure in the Aaran's Pond Community

This poster examines the different ways in which environmental engineers and community residents can collaborate on co-designing solutions to failing stormwater ponds—important forms of green infrastructure used to control flooding in the Tampa Bay area. With increasing frequency and intensity of flooding events due to climate change, some stormwater ponds,such as Aaran’s Pond in the University Area Community near USF, are becoming less effective at flood management and increasingly characterized by poor water quality due to excessive nutrient pollution that negatively impacts the health of the pond ecosystem and the people who rely on it. This research draws on data from 12 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with environmental engineers from USF and Hillsborough County and with community residents. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data reveal opportunities and challenges of the co-design process and how collaborators can balance expert knowledge and local knowledge.

The Weather Climate and Society REU program invited 10 students from across the US to conduct research projects related to disaster-vulnerable communities in Florida and other extreme weather-affected areas. These projects were interdisciplinary, integrating social science and physical science aspects of severe weather, climate, and related disasters through field work, interviews, and/or spatial analysis of secondary data in GIS. The PI of this REU is Dr. Jennifer Collins.