Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Another possible strategy would be to allow the doubtful or skeptical user to freely
navigate, interact with, or interrogate the visualisation imagery and underlying
databases (Furness III et al.
1998
; Sheppard and Salter
2004
).
Capacity-building and training of practitioners on structured and ethical prep-
aration and use of visualisations in participatory planning processes for climate
change is needed across a range of climate change issues affecting communities,
working with other extension agents in the government, regional agencies,
industry, and NGOs to transfer knowledge to and from communities. Initial
guidance on learning, planning, and implementing these processes already exists,
in the form of a Visioning Manual (Pond et al.
2010
) and review of visual media
techniques, principles, and examples in Sheppard (
2012
). It is also possible that the
audience or receiver of information from visualisation-based processes (e.g. the
public or local councils) may need training in order to absorb and correctly
interpret the meaning of sometimes novel or unfamiliar visual imagery or tools.
Visual imagery is to some extent a universal language, transcending linguistic
and sometimes cultural differences. Landscape visualisations have been shown to
be effective in a variety of social groups and community types, including
aboriginal communities in BC (Lewis and Sheppard
2006
) and Nunavut (Pond
et al.
2012
). This suggests that the visioning processes tested in diverse Canadian
communities may also be applicable in other countries and community types.
Further research is therefore needed to test the effectiveness of visioning pro-
cesses in various environments and community types internationally. It is also
important to conduct more evaluations of the impact of visualisations relative to
the larger participatory process. Lastly, it would be instructive to evaluate and
compare visioning processes which are researcher-driven versus those conducted
by practitioner and embedded in official planning processes.
7.5 Conclusions
Communities all over the world face an urgent need to choose between possible
climate change strategies with far-reaching consequences, while keeping their
public involved and supportive. Experience gained through a decade of Canadian
research suggests that landscape ecologists and practitioners can employ powerful
science-based visual tools capable of improving understanding, influencing peo-
ple's perceptions, and helping to motivate action at the landscape or community
level. Such approaches could help fill the void in developing practical, holistic,
collective solutions to climate change problems, using defensible visual imagery of
future low-carbon resilient communities. Participatory visioning processes can
dramatically bring the impacts of climate change home to people, making it 'per-
sonal' through realistic visualizations of their familiar landscape under future
scenarios informed by climate change projections. The Canadian community case
studies described in this chapter suggest that this novel approach, combining var-
ious scientific, geomatic, communication and psychological techniques, represents
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