Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Anthropology
Major Professor
E. Christian Wells, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Antoinette Jackson, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Mauricio Arias, Ph.D.
Keywords
environmental justice, nature-based solutions, participatory research, stormwater infrastructure
Abstract
Stormwater ponds help address flooding and partially mitigate nutrient pollution while sometimes serving as a central landscape element in community parks. In underserved urban communities, however, stormwater ponds are sometimes neglected and underutilized, leading to public health and environmental justice challenges. Our research in Tampa, Florida, seeks to develop pathways for residents and other stakeholders to collaboratively co-design infrastructure interventions and pondscape redevelopment for neglected stormwater ponds. Drawing on ethnographic and participatory methods as well as environmental assessment and modeling, we are working with residents of one pond community on cleanup and redevelopment strategies. Results reveal that balancing local and authoritative knowledge through context-sensitive collaboration can help stakeholders and residents work together during urban stormwater infrastructure interventions.
Scholar Commons Citation
Echols, Serena A., "Situating Stormwater Infrastructure through Collaborative Design: Insights from a University-Community Partnership" (2026). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/11276
