Building bridges between experts and the public: a comparison of two-way communication formats for flooding and air pollution risk

Abstract

Abstract. Urban centres worldwide are adversely affected by flooding and air pollution. Better-prepared citizens are crucial to limiting the impacts of these hazards, and both lay knowledge and personal experiences are important in complementing and challenging expert opinion. For the first time, this study offers a critical comparison of how different two-way communication formats have been used worldwide between experts and the public in relation to flooding and air pollution risk. Through a systematic review, we analyse social media, educational programmes, serious games, citizen science, and forums in terms of their effectiveness in respect of dealing with incidents, raising awareness, and promoting knowledge exchange in the context of flooding and air pollution risk. We find that there is neither a one-size-fits-all nor superior format of communication. No single format is effective in fulfilling all three communication purposes. All five formats analysed appear to be successful under different circumstances and are never suitable for all segments of the population. Communication between experts and the public is difficult and full of tensions; information alone is not enough. Our study shows different ways of incorporating strategies to build trust between experts and the public and make communication more fun and accessible, breaking down hierarchies and creating safe spaces for co-creation where everyone feels empowered to participate and everyone benefits.

Handwritten letters and photo albums linking geoscientists with school classes

“…Some students (7 of 17) also commented on the personal and reassuring connection they had experienced in communicating with the scientists. In forging out a communication process based on traditional media, we hoped to make an inclusive, fun, and accessible two-way dialogue between scientist and class as called for by Loroño-Leturiondo et al (2019). In this way, we hoped to create a safe space to exchange ideas about geoscience and for the students to ask any questions that they wanted.…”

Disaster emergency preparedness literacy education and training for city dwellers: A proposed model

“…The relationship between adequate information provision and behavioral change has been found to be mixed (Cornes, et al, 2019;Chowdhury, et al, 2019). Several studies have found that provision of adequate information substantially influences behavioral change (Cook, et al, 2019;Moser, et al, 2011;Falco, et al, 2019;Leturiondo, et al, 2019). According to Feldman et al (2016), public receipt of sufficient information on scientific findings could translate into a behavioral change when certain activities either precede or proceed information sufficiency provision.…”