Landscapes to Lifescapes - Sociotechnical interventions in public engagement

Flooding is recognised as a powerful agent of geomorphology. During a few hours of a flood event, more change can occur to a river and its valley than accumulated changes over several decades. Floods are also a powerful force of change in our human experience. Floods (re)shape lives, communities and societies, causing devastation and upheaval but also creating experience and enhanced understanding among flood-affected people of the need to adapt and live with water. So, to appreciate the full of impacts of flooding it is important to consider and communicate the ways it changes both 'landscapes and lifescapes'.

In the Landscapes to Lifescapes online exhibition, hosted on The Flood Hub (https://thefloodhub.co.uk/), social scientists and geomorphologists collaborate to explore the material and social meaning of flooding. ‘Landscapes’ shows the complex and varied forms of flooding and how these alter rivers and valleys, visualised by digital activities from the SeriousGeoGames Lab. ‘Lifescapes’ illuminates some of the effects of flooding on families and communities, using flood testimonies gathered from a series of qualitative participative studies. The exhibition culminates in a 360 virtual reality experience, telling the true story of a young boy caught up in flooding. Help Callum was created combining software designed for videogames and a real flood narrative, allowing visitors to experience Callum’s journey from flood victim to flood activist, through his eyes and using his words.

The aim of the exhibition is to promote flood resilience knowledge and actions to the users through: raising awareness of flood risk and recovery, including particular impacts on children and young people; encouraging the users’ agency by highlighting actions that can be taken at household and community level; and modelling positive behaviours by providing examples and case studies. Evaluation is conducted throughout using feedback boards and polls.