Abstract
Participatory research methods are increasingly used to collectively understand complex social-environmental problems and to design solutions through diverse and inclusive stakeholder engagement. But participatory research rarely engages stakeholders to co-develop and co-interpret models that conceptualize and quantify system dynamics for comparing scenarios of alternate action. Even fewer participatory projects have engaged people using geospatial simulations of dynamic landscape processes and spatially explicit planning scenarios. We contend that geospatial participatory modeling (GPM) can confer multiple benefits over non-spatial approaches for participatory research processes, by (a) personalizing connections to problems and their solutions through visualizations of place, (b) resolving abstract notions of landscape connectivity, and (c) clarifying the spatial scales of drivers, data, and decision-making authority. We illustrate through a case study how GPM is bringing stakeholders together to balance population growth and conservation in a coastal region facing dramatic landscape change due to urbanization and sea level rise. We find that an adaptive, iterative process of model development, sharing, and revision drive innovation of methods and ultimately improve the realism of land change models. This co-production of knowledge enables all participants to fully understand problems, evaluate the acceptability of trade-offs, and build buy-in for management actions in the places where they live and work.
Highlights
Solutions to complex social-environmental problems require collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and participatory research frameworks have emerged to help people create realistic alternatives for management and build buy-in for decision-making
Participatory research extends beyond extractive use of information, in that stakeholders work together to frame research questions and provide methodological guidance and input on how to use results for action [1,2]
Given that social-ecological challenges are deeply complicated and concern a range of stakeholders with diverse expertise, models that describe system dynamics are essential for conceptualizing interacting processes and for envisioning scenarios of alternate action
Summary
Solutions to complex social-environmental problems require collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and participatory research frameworks have emerged to help people create realistic alternatives for management and build buy-in for decision-making. We suggest that geospatial modeling can enhance place, (b) resolving notionscomprehend of landscape the connectivity, and (c) clarifying spatial scales of of the degree to whichabstract stakeholders scope of complex problemsthe and trade-offs drivers, data, and decision-making authority.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
