Marion Amalric

Hazard and living environment: combining industrial risk and landscape representations.

In the context of the French estuary of the Seine River (Normandy), around the urban area of Le Havre, this paper studies the determinants of industrial risk perception of the resident population. More precisely, to what extent the presence of components in the industrial landscape may influence this risk perception. Several complementary methods were combined to evaluate risk perception, assess surrounding landscapes or measure the distance to landscape components. Qualitative, quantitative, and spatial data were collected, pooled and treated in a geographic information system in order to arrive at two main results. First, risk sensitivity depends on various factors including the landscape dimension and the visibility of industrial components. Second, mental maps drawn by people allow a better understanding of industrial risk sensitivity; it appears that areas of risk are more precisely delineated by people who are less worried about risk.

Mapping Mental Representations of Industrial Risk: Illustrated with the Populations of the Estuary of the Seine River, France

This article uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the representations of risk produced by the inhabitants of an area exposed to industrial risk. The methodologies used are intended to bring to light perceptions, thoughts, opinions, and sensitivities, whether conscious or subconscious, and thus are subject to the normal precautions of the human and social sciences. If interviews give the researcher information on respondents’ knowledge of risk or degree of worry, other media can provide complementary and sometimes even contradictory information. Mental maps are a part of the methodological arsenal that goes beyond the medium of language and allows a spatial approach to the study of representations of risk. Using mental maps in association with geographic information systems allows us to understand the spatial differentiation of the representations of risk. Dans cet article, les auteurs utilisent des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives pour analyser les représentations du risque produites par les habitants d’un secteur exposé au risque industriel. Les méthodologies utilisées visent à éclairer les perceptions, les réflexions, les opinions et les sensibilités, qu’elles soient conscientes ou subconscientes, et elles sont donc assujetties aux précautions normales des sciences humaines et sociales. Si des entrevues donnent aux chercheurs de l’information sur la connaissance que les répondants ont du risque ou du degré d’inquiétude, il se peut que d’autres médias fournissent de l’information complémentaire et parfois contradictoire. Les cartes mentales font partie de la panoplie méthodologique qui dépasse le médium que constitue la langue et permet une approche spatiale de l’étude des représentations du risque. Les cartes mentales conjuguées aux systèmes d’information géographique nous permettent de comprendre la différentiation spatiale au niveau des représentations du risque.

Participatory simulation to foster social learning on coastal flooding prevention

Abstract Due to the increase in coastal flooding risk associated with sea-level rise and increasing population along the coasts, there is a strong need to develop efficient and long-term management strategies. In partnership with the local administration of Oleron Island in France, a participatory simulation model was developed to foster social learning about coastal risk prevention measures with local authorities and managers. This simulation integrates a coastal flooding model and a spatially explicit agent-based model that simulates the development of the area and the management of prevention measures. The participatory set-up includes an immersive environment for participants to remember the coastal flooding simulation displayed and a role game mechanism that simulates the coordination issues between the different decision bodies involved in coastal risk management. A first application proved that participants learn about the water expansion dynamics during flood events and the effects of building, raising and restoring dikes.