Citation

Hendricks MD, Meyer MA, Gharaibeh NG, Van Zandt S, Masterson J, Cooper JT, Horney JA, Berke P. Sustain. Cities Soc. 2018; 38: 265-274.

Affiliation

Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.scs.2017.12.039

PMID

30370207

PMCID

PMC6200349

Abstract

Climate change and increasing natural disasters coupled with years of deferred maintenance have added pressure to infrastructure in urban areas. Thus, monitoring for failure of these systems is crucial to prevent future impacts to life and property. Participatory assessment technique for infrastructure provides a community-based approach to assess the capacity and physical condition of infrastructure. Furthermore, a participatory assessment technique for infrastructure can encourage grassroots activism that engages residents, researchers, and planners in the identification of sustainable development concerns and solutions. As climate change impacts disproportionately affect historically disenfranchised communities, assessment data can further inform planning, aiming to balance the distribution of public resources towards sustainability and justice. This paper explains the development of the participatory assessment technique for infrastructure that can provide empirical data about the condition of infrastructure at the neighborhood-level, using stormwater systems in a vulnerable neighborhood in Houston, Texas as a case study. This paper argues for the opportunity of participatory methods to address needs in infrastructure assessment and describes the ongoing project testing the best use of these methods.

Language: en

Keywords

Infrastructure assessment; citizen science; environmental justice; flooding; participatory action; sustainable infrastructure