• Used resource management and census data sets and various ArcGIS tools to highlight municipal flood hazard areas for risk assessment purposes

See GEOB 270 Final Report for complete analysis and appendix

Our GIS analysis aimed to identify areas of vulnerability from sea level rise based on 100-year flood zone projections to inform city infrastructure and emergency planners which coastal areas require attention and make further recommendations for adaptation. We narrowed our project down to three coastal municipalities in Miami Dade County and based our vulnerability criteria on affected population, valuable facilities and infrastructure (i.e., major roads, hospitals, sewer pumps, educational institutions, and ports) and in certain cases, measured losses based on map algebra.

Our team worked on all sections together. However two team members were more involved in downloading the data, the GIS analysis and representation, while other half of the team focused on the analysis findings, implications, and recommendations. We wanted to work together as a team on all project components as much as possible in order to keep track of all steps in the analysis be aware of potential errors, and ensure consistency throughout the map development. It is difficult in such a project to divide the work individually for the three parts of the analysis as a second person should verify the analysis is being conducted properly and minimizes error. We changed our approaches various times during the analysis process and debated which available data to use, so it was beneficial to have multiple members working on one computer at the same time. We used only two accounts to ensure easy data management and relied on an open data portal on Miami Dade’s official government website, which contained all layers needed for the analysis. For the actual report writing, we split up the results/discussion sections between two people, the error and conclusion section for one, and the flow chart creation between two people. Overall, this team worked very productively on the project.