The Road from HIA to Story Map at the Intersection of Green Infrastructure and Health
Citation:
Griffin, S. AND J. Rhodus. The Road from HIA to Story Map at the Intersection of Green Infrastructure and Health. Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment Virtual Workshop, NA, NC, December 01 - 02, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This abstract is being submitted for presentation as a lighting talk at the 2021 Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment Virtual Workshop. Lightning talks are 5 minute timed presentations that are meant to be fun and informative. The goal of this presentation is to share the journey of moving from an HIA to a Story Map to help address the environmental and public health challenges faced by the Proctor Creek community of Atlanta, GA.
Description:
What happens when you start an HIA, but part way into the effort you encounter some unforeseen road blocks (cue those pesky funding and resource constraints)? You take the road less traveled and turn the HIA into a Story Map! Navigating this new road, we were able to incorporate community and stakeholder input, photos, maps, narrative, and multimedia content into an easy-to-use, interactive, online tool that tells the story of Atlanta’s Proctor Creek watershed. The Story Map shares the rich history of the watershed, highlights some of the outstanding work done by community champions, and illuminates the role green infrastructure can play in addressing some of the prevalent environmental challenges facing the community. The Story Map format provided a unique and meaningful way to communicate information about community-identified concerns and the intersection of green infrastructure and health, to engage the community as stewards of their watershed, and to aid in future decision-making by identifying areas of the watershed where green infrastructure could best serve as a solution to flooding and urban heat island effects. The road less traveled resulted in a powerful, compelling, and inspiring communication tool that community members can use to advocate for their health and their community.