Join us as we welcome Beth Tellman, a candidate for the Nelson Institute’s RISE-EARTH hiring initiative.
Tellman is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Geography, Development, and Environment where she focuses on the causes and consequences of global environmental change on people, with a focus on flood risk and land use change. Her work also looks at the intersections between satellite data and improved human well-being.
Tellman will present “Flood Risk in an Urbanizing World: Using Satellites to Address Adaptation and Injustice.”
Can’t attend in person? Join this seminar on Zoom
Abstract
Floods affect more people than any other hazard, and building in the floodplain plays a larger role in increasing exposure than a changing climate. Improvements in the resolution of satellite data and machine learning provide new opportunities to monitor floods locally and globally. Mapping flood exposure globally reveals that settlement growth is higher in places that have experienced floods than elsewhere, especially in the Global South.
But what and who drives urban expansion in risky places- and what actors are ultimately responsible? While the urban poor get scapegoated for informal urban growth in places like Mexico City, I use satellite imagery, electoral, and land titling data to show how processes such as clientelism (politicians directing public goods to constituents in exchange for their vote) may play a larger role in shaping urban expansion.
Here in the US, underserved communities are the most exposed to growing floods. Inequitable exposure in the US may in part by driven by real estate actors who build flood mitigation infrastructure in order to remove their properties from the regulatory floodplain and increase their property value. I combine satellite data with government records to assess whether this practice exacerbates flooding in underserved communities downstream.
Finally, I’ll show how satellite data can be leveraged for both adaptation, via index insurance, and for flood justice, via FLUJOS (Flood Justice Utilizing Satellite Observations) co-produced with lawyers from Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid and five community based organizations. As floods impact more people and property, policies must evolve to address growing risk and prioritize protection for the most vulnerable.