The Demographics of Public Participation Access When Communicating Environmental Risk
Date
2018-09
Authors
Kuser Olsen, V. Beth
Galloway, Gerald E.
Ruth, Matthias
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ANU Press
Abstract
The interaction between humans and their environment is epitomized by climate change issues. Public engagement is essential to communicating anticipated changes and shifting risks. We investigated one such risk—flooding in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. We examined the demographics of flood risk management meeting participants and found they were significantly older, English-only speakers, better educated, more affluent, and more likely to be homeowners than the United States Census Bureau data indicate for the region’s population. The aggregate gender and ethnic representation of all communities reflected that of the region’s population, but individual communities were much less diverse. These findings show that it is important for risk managers to organize meetings in many local communities in their jurisdiction to capture all demographically diverse sectors. Outreach efforts should adapt to target younger community members, non-English speakers, lowerwage earners, and renters.
Description
Keywords
demographics, public engagement, risk management
Citation
Collections
Source
Human Ecology Review
Type
Journal article
Book Title
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access via publisher website
License Rights
Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-ND; creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)