Flood risk and damage are expected to increase in the Western US due to climate change. One way resilient communities have responded to thisissue is through the use of lidar, a 3-dimensional model of the earth’s surface, which allows communities to more accurately assess flood risk, identify vulnerabilities in a system, and design solutions to prevent flood damage. Our project aims to help Idaho also become a resilient community through our work with municipalities to understand flood risk preparedness, planning, and adoption of lidar. This project has three main components: assess the current uptake of lidar for extreme events planning among the municipalities, identify factors that promote and constrain the use of lidar by municipal officials in FEMA Region X through surveys, and overall increase the uptake of lidar for flood risk preparedness, planning, and adaptation in selected case study municipalities through interviews and workshops.
Investigators
- Vicken Hillis, Assistant Professor, College of Innovation & Design
- Tara Pozzi