Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

Bridging Diverse Knowledge Systems on Flooding and Flood-Related Disasters in Northeast Houston Communities

Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Community Engagement in Southeast Texas (CEST)

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) and Policy and Global Affairs (PGA) division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) partnered on a pilot project called Community Engagement in Southeast Texas (CEST) to better understand the role that community engagement can play in enhancing “flood resilience”—the ability to plan and prepare for, respond to, and more successfully adapt to flooding. CEST engaged community stakeholders through focus group discussions (2020–2021), a community dialogue (2020), a crowdsourcing campaign (2020–2021), and a household survey (2020–2022) on flooding in Southeast Texas communities. Flooding was examined as both a standalone disaster, such as Hurricane Harvey (2017), and a compounding disaster, co-occurring with ongoing recovery efforts from Harvey when Tropical Storm Imelda (2019) made landfall, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023) and Winter Storm Uri (2021).

Community Partners in Northeast Houston

Through community engagement, CEST built a trusted relationship with West Street Recovery (WSR), a grassroots organization based in Northeast (NE) Houston (an area included in Southeast Texas). WSR was formed after Harvey to meet disaster-recovery gaps for communities whose residents were denied assistance from government and nonprofit programs. According to the website,¹ WSR “uses home repair and community engagement to build more broadly towards social justice and an equitable recovery,” and “takes on participatory research…that centers the knowledge…of marginalized neighborhoods, flood impacted communities, and disaster survivors.”

A Series of Focus Group Discussions with NE Houston Flood Survivors

In 2021, CEST hired WSR to design and facilitate a series of focus group discussions² (CEST discussions) on the disaster experiences of marginalized communities, defined as socially vulnerable³ households located in neighborhoods with a history of repetitive flooding, in NE Houston. By a non-randomized process, WSR selected a total of 17 NE Houston residents to participate in the discussions. Participants were adults who had experienced flooding from Harvey and were still recovering from its effects when they experienced Tropical Storm Imelda, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Winter Storm Uri. The purpose of the discussions was to better understand the effects of flooding and other disasters on marginalized communities and to identify strategies that they have

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used to enhance their own flood resilience. WSR used the results to outline an advocacy and research agenda and CEST used the results to inform future activities, including a household survey.

A Household Survey on the Flood Experiences of NE Houston Residents

From 2020–2022, CEST and WSR worked with researchers at Texas A&M University and policy advisors from Harris County Precinct One⁴ to co-develop a household survey⁵ (CEST survey) on the disaster experiences of marginalized communities in NE Houston. By a randomized process, a total of 555 NE Houston residents were selected and participated in the survey. Participants were adults who lived in zip codes 77016, 77020, 77026, 77028, or 77078 of Houston, Harris County, TX (see Figure 1). The purpose of survey was to better understand the flooding experiences of marginalized communities and how other disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri, might compound the effects of flooding on those households. The results were used to validate what was learned through CEST discussions and to outline a prospectus for future programming and research.

Details of the CEST survey can be found in the staff-authored report “Community Engagement in Northeast Houston, Texas: Geospatial Results from a Household Survey of the Disaster Experiences of Northeast Houston,” which is available online at https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27848. The report provides more information on disasters, including Hurricane Harvey, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Winter Storm Uri; the survey methodology, including survey design and data collection; management and analyses of the survey data, including the calculation of a flood risk score; and survey results, including a series of maps of flooding in NE Houston.

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CEST WORKSHOP

CEST and WSR convened a diverse group of community stakeholders for a 2-day workshop in Houston, TX, on April 26–27, 2023. The purpose of the workshop was to bridge community knowledge (like the lived experiences of flood survivors) and CEST knowledge (like data from the CEST discussions and survey) with knowledge from other relevant stakeholders to gain a more comprehensive understanding of flooding in NE Houston. The objectives of the workshop were to identify gaps and possible actions to fill gaps, while providing workshop attendees with opportunities to build relationships for future collaboration on enhancing flood resilience.

The workshop agenda covered several topics—environmental hazards, mental health, drainage and green infrastructure, and community resilience hubs—through panel and breakout sessions. For each panel session WSR presented results (if available) from their participatory research to ground topics in the lived experiences of NE Houston communities; CEST presented discussion and survey results (if available) to both validate and expand upon WSR work; and a panel of stakeholders—academic researchers, community-based organization members, and government employees—presented their work to add to the diversity of knowledge. For each breakout session, CEST and WSR engaged panelists and workshop attendees in discussions and activities to bridge knowledge and work towards achieving workshop objectives. To assist in this engagement, Meg Ratto of the Visual Influence⁶ developed visual notes, which summarized and connected knowledge shared at the workshop through drawings and text in real time.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: A SNAPSHOT OF PEOPLE AND PLACES IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON

NE Houston as People-Based Communities

What We Love and Changes We Want to See

Workshop participants, most of whom were community members or from community-based organizations, were asked to share what they love about NE Houston communities. In response, participants talked about the people—their strong social bonds, such as feelings of being connected to one another—as the most loved community asset. When asked about changes they want to see in NE Houston communities, participants talked about wanting new drainage infrastructure, adequate affordable housing, better public transit, less crime and anti-racist governance, and more community support overall—particularly regarding flooding issues.

Demographics of Survey Respondents and NE Houston/Houston Residents

The CEST survey found that respondents had both similar and different demographics⁷ (See Table 1) as those from other NE Houston and greater Houston residents, said workshop co-host and panelist Francisca Flores, GRP Program Officer.

NE Houston as Placed-Based Communities

A History of Legacy Pollution from Environmental Hazards

Like other majority-Black or Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) neighborhoods, NE Houston has a history of legacy pollution from environmental hazards, said workshop co-host Doris Brown, Co-Director of Community Research, Organizing, and Special Events for WSR and a 50-year resident of NE Houston. Environmental hazards include flaring refineries, the McCarty landfill,⁸ and particulate matter from multiple concrete plants. NE Houston is also bisected by railroads and two

TABLE 1
Select Demographics of Respondents Who Completed the CEST Survey in Comparison to Select Demographics of NE Houston (Zip Codes 77016, 77020, 77026, 77028, And 77078) and Houston Residents Who Completed the American Community Survey 2015–2019

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major highways, has two Superfund⁹ sites, and has seen a recent increase in new gas stations. “[NE Houston residents] are sick and tired of people coming into our neighborhoods and turning it into a dumping ground… We want a good quality of life,” Brown said.

Residents’ Concerns About Pollution and Health Risks

Following the identification of two cancer clusters¹⁰ (2019 and 2021) in NE Houston, residents expressed concern regarding pollution from a nearby creosote¹¹ plant and lead from older infrastructure and gas stations in their neighborhoods, said panelist Garett Sansom, an environmental epidemiologist and professor from Texas A & M University. Informed by these concerns, Sansom and his team sampled¹² soil from three super neighborhoods of NE Houston—Greater Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens, and Denver Harbor—for known carcinogenic chemicals associated with creosote. In 40 of 46 soil samples, Sansom and his team found concentrations of the chemicals at a level indicating potential cancer risk, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. Lastly, Samson and his team found that lead levels in some neighborhoods were five times the recommended safe level for children.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: A SNAPSHOT OF FLOOD RISK AND FLOOD RISK COMMUNICATION IN NORTHEAST HOUSTON

Toxic Water, Flooding, and Flood Risk

What Happens to Pollutants When Flood Waters Rise?

NE Houston residents are also concerned about what happens to pollutants when flood waters rise, said Brown. “We want our kids to walk out and catch their bus, not wade through toxic water,” Brown said. When the neighborhoods flood, homes can quickly develop mold from polluted water, worsening existing health issues like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said Brown.

Flood Risk and Flooding Hotspots Near Environmental Hazards

Data from the CEST survey were used to calculate a flood risk score¹³ for each survey respondent and to display scores on a geographical map of NE Houston with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplains¹⁴ for Harris County, TX, said workshop co-host and panelist Courtney Thompson, GRP Associate Program Officer. The CEST survey found that 78 percent of respondents do not know if they live in a floodplain. In addition, 68 percent of respondents had experienced at least one severe flood event since living in their homes; of those respondents, 27 percent reported having experienced severe flooding three or more times; and of those who experienced severe flooding three or more times, 72 percent lived outside of a floodplain in a FEMA-designated “minimal to no flood risk” area. In other words, there is evidence to show that severe repetitive flooding is occurring outside of the floodplains in NE Houston, said Thompson. A geographical map of NE Houston showed several hotspots where repeated flooding occurred outside official FEMA-designated floodplains. One hotspot is located close to a high density of oil and gas infrastructure (like refineries) and environmental threats (like Superfund sites).

Flood Risk Communication

Flood Risk Communication Relies on Reciprocal Trust

Communication about flood risk relies on being open and honest and forming reciprocal trust, said workshop co-host Ben Hirsch, Co-Director of Organizing, Research, and Development for WSR. Unfortunately, “Northeast Houston doesn’t feel like they are trusted,” which puts the community at greater risk during disasters, like flooding. “We need more information on why the recommendation is made…and we need to trust people to hear that information and make a good decision,” said Hirsch.

Flood Risk Communication Preferences

The CEST survey found that NE Houston residents’ top three preferred sources for information on flooding were local news meteorologists, local emergency management, and the mayor or city manager, said Flores. The survey also showed significant demographic differences regarding preferred sources of flood preparedness information. For example, people aged 46 or older were more likely to use TV, while those aged 18 to 45 preferred the internet or social media. As another example, BIPOC and

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Hispanic/Latino respondents were significantly more likely to prefer information from the office of emergency management or local government executive, said Flores.

Building Trust through Community Engagement

Panelist Tom Munoz, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the City of Houston, talked about building trust through community engagement before a disaster occurs. Munoz stated he could have designed the best social media sources, but “the trusted source was the churches.” On the advice of the African American Association of Ministers, he attended 23 church services in a month and a half.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: FLOODING FROM HURRICANE HARVEY

Not All Houston Neighborhoods Experienced the Same Extent of Flooding from Harvey

“Harvey Was on a Totally Different Level”

“It has flooded in my neighborhood for years, since I was a little girl. Harvey was on a totally different level. I’m still dealing with [its] effects right now,” Brown said. “Many families experienced homelessness, medical illness, financial debt, loss of jobs, and lack of access to education following the storm,” according to panelist Constance Luo, a former community organizer who lived in NE Houston at the time of Harvey.

More Socially Vulnerable Neighborhoods Experienced Greater Flooding

The flooding from Harvey was the most destructive the city had seen, said panelist Omolola Adepoju, Director of Research at the Humana Integrated Health Sciences Institute and a clinical associate professor at the Family College of Medicine at the University of Houston: “Houston is very diverse, but very segregated,” Adepoju said, adding that not all neighborhoods experienced the same extent of flooding from Harvey. For example, using a survey¹⁵ co-developed with community groups, Adepoju and her team found that on average 22 percent of homes flooded in any given neighborhood of Harris County; however, in Kashmere Gardens, a majority-Black super neighborhood in NE Houston, 82 percent of homes flooded.

Panelist Rachel White Roy, a non-communicable disease manager for Harris County Public Health, had a similar observation. Using flooding and census data, White Roy presented a map of Harris County that showed the density of homes that had been flooded by Harvey and residents’ social vulnerability.¹⁶ White Roy found that there was a high density of flooded homes and high social vulnerability in NE Houston compared to other areas in the county.

Likewise, panelist Jayajit Chakraborty, Director of the Socio-Environmental and Geospatial Analysis Lab and professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, compared Harvey-related flooding among different neighborhoods in Harris County, TX, including some in NE Houston. Using flooding and census data, Chakraborty and his team developed a model and socioeconomic deprivation index (SDI)¹⁷ to look at the extent of flooding and social vulnerability. Results showed that the extent of flooding from Harvey was significantly greater in neighborhoods with more Black and Hispanic residents, as well as neighborhoods with higher SDI scores (more socially vulnerable). In addition, a related study¹⁸ by Chakraborty and his team also found that neighborhoods with more residents with cognitive and ambulatory disabilities were more likely to experience greater flooding than neighborhoods with residents with other types of disabilities, said Chakraborty.

Barriers to Post-Harvey Recovery and Poor Mental Health

“Recovery from the Recovery”

Many NE Houston residents experienced poor mental health as they tried to recover from Harvey, said Brown. Using the phrase the “recovery from the recovery,” Brown and workshop participants from NE Houston described a cycle where residents felt stress, anxiety, guilt, shame, frustration, and worsening of existing health conditions from having survived Harvey; and then again from seeing their homes flooded; and then again from unexplained recovery service denials from FEMA

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and lack of follow-up from the Red Cross. All of it adds up to an overriding sense that “people expect Black and Brown people to live in these conditions,” Brown said.

Barriers to Recovery and Poor Mental Health for NE Houston Residents

The CEST discussions also found a connection between post-Harvey recovery and poor mental health outcomes. For example, Brown shared the following quote from a CEST participant: “When people try to get help from the government, they don’t get help. It becomes so overbearing, they give up. It’s bad when you put people in a position where they think they don’t mean anything to anyone.” Likewise, CEST survey respondents reported multiple barriers when trying to access disaster assistance (including mental health services) after flooding, said Flores. Barriers included not knowing where to find help, receiving denials of recovery services, experiencing burdensome documentation requests for assistance, receiving inconsistent and conflicting information, or lack of follow-up from agencies.

Unmet Recovery Needs and Poor Mental Health for Harris County Residents

Four months after Harvey, Chakraborty and his team conducted a household survey¹⁹ in Greater Houston, which includes NE Houston. The survey found that among respondents, racial and ethnic minorities and lower-income residents reported experiencing significantly more unmet needs, including access to electricity, adequate transportation, and sufficient money for living expenses, said Chakraborty.

One year after Harvey, Harris County Public Health conducted a household survey of county residents, said panelist White Roy. The survey found that almost, 17 percent of Harris County residents affected by Harvey experienced fair or poor mental health. As a reference point, White Roy added that “20–30 percent of those who live through a hurricane develop depression and/or PTSD within the first few months [after the event], with similar rates for those who experience flooding.”

Ongoing Post-Harvey Recovery, the Addition of Other Disasters, and Poor Mental Health

Flooding, COVID-19, Uri, and Seeking Mental Health Services

The CEST survey found that 52 percent of respondents sought disaster assistance (including mental health services) for flooding, COVID-19, and Uri, said Flores. Specifically, survey respondents were more likely to seek mental health services for COVID-19 (7 percent) than they did for flooding (4 percent) and Uri (4 percent). The number of respondents who sought mental health services for COVID-19 and flooding (2 percent) was greater than those who sought mental health services for Uri and flooding (1 percent). Overall, more respondents encountered barriers to seeking disaster assistance for flooding than for COVID-19 and Uri.

Harvey, COVID-19, and Poor Mental Health for SE Texas Residents

Panelist Rashida Callender, a research associate at Rice University, talked about the Texas Flood Registry (TFR)²⁰ and its core surveys that were conducted after Harvey and during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify long-term health and housing effects from multiple, successive disasters. The core surveys found that among those who reported floodwater exposure, “low-income and minority respondents, as well as those with pre-existing conditions, were [also] more likely to report adverse health outcomes,” Callender said. Pandemic data also showed that Harvey’s long-term economic and mental health effects were associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes, said Callender.

Harvey, COVID-19, and Poor Mental Health for NE Houston Residents

Many of Houston’s low-income residents were still recovering from Harvey when they were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic and Uri, said Adepoju. Using census data,²¹ Adepoju and her team identified five majority-Black super neighborhoods, including two—Kashmere Gardens and Greater Fifth Ward—from NE Houston, to explore the research question: “How much can one take?” Using a survey developed with the community and eight focus groups, Adepoju surveyed impacts from Harvey in these five neighborhoods and found multiple compounding factors impacting their well-being and mental health. For example, 21 percent of survey respondents lacked health insurance, which limited access to mental health care. Successive disasters compound mental health issues over time. Adepoju explained, “In the short-term, you have anxiety, panic attacks, you’re stressed, right? You’re thinking, ‘What am I going to do to survive this?’ And then when it becomes more fre-

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quent and successive in nature, you can develop long-term mental health issues.”

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: ACTIONS TAKEN AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY TO ENHANCE FLOOD RESILIENCE

Flood-Reduction and Flood-Mitigation Policies and Investments in Harris County, TX

The 2018 Flood Bond and Equity Language

Through community organizing, WSR advocated for the equitable distribution of the 2018 flood bond: a $2.5 million measure to fund flood-reduction projects throughout Harris County.²² “We won [an] historic inclusion of equity language in the bond itself,” said Hirsch.

Disparities in Flood-Reduction Policies between Houston Neighborhoods

Panelist Malini Roy, a research associate at TAMU’s Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center, looked at differences in the City of Houston’s official plans (e.g., development, public works, sustainability, transportation, and neighborhood level) between West (W.) Houston (low social vulnerability) and NE Houston (high social vulnerability) both pre- and post-Harvey. While the two areas are “very different in terms of social vulnerability, they are also quite comparable in terms of flood risk,” Roy said. Specifically, Roy was interested in any pre-Harvey differences or post-Harvey changes to how official plans incorporated flood-reduction policies, as well as the types of organizations (e.g., government, non-profit, business, or community organizations) planners collaborated with when creating official plans.

When looking at pre-Harvey official plans, Roy found that those for W. Houston had twice as many flood-reduction policies as those for NE Houston. Post-Harvey, the number of flood-reduction policies in official plans for both W. and NE Houston increased, but not to the same extent: official plans for W. Houston had three times as many flood-reduction policies than those for NE Houston, said Roy, adding that the disparity gap between W and NE Houston had widened. One possible reason for the widening gap is that NE Houston official plans focused more on economic recovery than on planning for future risk, said Roy. In addition, Roy found that hazard mitigation (including flood reduction) planning was more siloed in NE than W. Houston. For example, planners and grassroots/community organizations working in the same neighborhoods were not sharing information, and proposed hazard mitigation solutions did not incorporate community knowledge or needs into official plans.

Disparities in Flood-Mitigation Investments between Houston Watersheds

Panelist Susan Rogers, Director of the Community Design Resource Center (CDRC) and associate professor at the University of Houston, found similar disparities in flood mitigation projects.²³ The Greens Bayou, which flows through East Houston (a super neighborhood of Houston) has not had “the same amount of funding or analysis” as other flood-prone watersheds, Rogers said. For example, as little as $19 million has been spent on flood mitigation along the Green Bayou compared to $350 million spent on flood mitigation along a comparable watershed with similar flood risk and population size. Part of the issue is how the federal cost-benefit analysis makes funding decisions, with requirements that are hard to meet when property values are low, and with policies that prioritize home value over public safety, Rogers said. The 2018 flood bond was supposed to correct some of these inequitable outcomes; however, while Greens Bayou received 17 percent of the bond funding, only 7 percent of that funding went to two projects in East Houston, Rogers said.

Flood-Reduction Projects in Northeast Houston: Spotlight on Drainage Infrastructure

Drainage Infrastructure in NE Houston Is not Adequate for a Normal Rainfall Event, Let Alone Another Harvey

In terms of flood reduction, Houton has two types of drainage infrastructure: open ditch and curb/gutter, said co-host Brenda Tijerina, a researcher on the WSR drainage team. Open-ditch infrastructure is common in NE Houston, and 88 percent of open-ditch infrastructure across the City of Houston is located in BIPOC neighborhoods. The WSR drainage team found that 43 percent of open ditch infrastructure in NE Houston did not provide adequate drainage in a normal rainfall event; in fact, some neighborhoods, like Lakewood, had streets with no drainage infrastructure at all.

WSR believes that one major issue is how the local government assesses the status and quality of drainage infrastructure, said Tijerina. This is of particular concern given the City of Houston’s “worst-first” policy,²⁴ which

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is supposed to prioritize funding from the 2018 flood bond to those who would be affected the worst by flooding. To test WSR’s belief, Tijerina and the WSR drainage team applied the city’s drainage assessment tool in Lakewood. In doing so, they identified several shortfalls, such as the tool did not represent the condition of ditch segments, distinguish between issues primarily of concern to open-ditch drainage, consider urgent needs for drainage, or attend to drainage inequities. In response, Tijerina and the WSR drainage team are developing a new drainage assessment tool and plan to test it during Hurricane Season 2023.

Open-Ditch Drainage Infrastructure Can Work, But Only If It Is Well-Designed and Well-Maintained

Open ditch drainage can work, but only if it is well-designed and well-maintained, said panelist Nasir Gharaibeh, a professor at Texas A&M University. In NE Houston, the median age of infrastructure (including drainage infrastructure) is now more than 58 years old—which is 14 years older than the median for Harris County. Between 2010–2019, Harris County had more than 300 federally funded flood mitigation projects; of those, only 13 were in NE Houston; and of those, zero focused on drainage infrastructure improvements. In addition, Gharaibeh agreed with WSR on the lack of recent data on drainage infrastructure in NE Houston. Old data is not useful for addressing current flooding concerns, said Gharaibeh, and residents can help fill data gaps. Gharaibeh assessed open-ditch drainage infrastructure by involving community scientists to collect visual data on drainage conditions in their neighborhoods. Validation of community-collected data by Lidar scanning showed that “the data [from community scientists] is good data,” said Gharaibeh.

Using Data to Advocate for Drainage Infrastructure Investments in NE Houston

Edith Wilson, President and CEO of Rock Whisperer, and Constance Luo, former community organizer at the Texas Organizing Project, talked about using data to advocate for improved drainage infrastructure in their community. In 2018, researchers and community members collected data on the Harvey-related flood experiences of NE Houston residents and combined that data with publicly available datasets such as census data, FEMA individual assistance data, and infrastructure data from the Harris County Flood Control District. Combined data were used to produce a series of maps that highlighted the areas in NE Houston that experienced the greater extents of flooding from Harvey and their corresponding proximity to drainage infrastructure improvements projects funded in the 2018 flood bond. The maps showed that NE Houston met the bond’s prioritization criteria for financing flood-reduction projects (“worst-first” policy). However, of the three bond projects that overlapped with the study neighborhoods, only one flood-reduction project was completed. Wilson said the overarching project aimed to “place community resources in the hands of community leaders” and create a useful tool. Luo also pointed out that their project resulted in a cultural shift in the community’s attitude toward using science in their advocacy.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE: ACTIONS TAKEN BY OTHER U.S. GULF OF MEXICO COMMUNITIES TO ENHANCE FLOOD RESILIENCE

Flood-Resilience Projects: Spotlight on Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure in New Orleans, LA

Panelist Dana Nunez Brown, a professional landscape architect based in New Orleans, LA, talked about using green infrastructure to reduce flooding, while also providing additional benefits. Green infrastructure works by slowing down the flow rate of stormwater, effectively increasing the capacity of gray drainage infrastructure in heavy rain events, Nunez Brown said. Some examples of green infrastructure include large bioretention cells, bioswales, and constructed wetlands, which can also serve as a teaching tool. In 2013, Nunez Brown co-founded WaterWise Gulf South (WaterWise), a collective of community-based organizations that train and educate residents in implementing green infrastructure in their neighborhoods.

“Thinking Outside the Pump” in New Orleans Neighborhoods

New Orleans relies on pumps (gray infrastructure) to manage flooding, but that aging system is strained and failing due to climate, said panelist Jeffrey Supak, Executive Director of WaterWise. Many of the city’s majority-Black and low-income neighborhoods are situated below sea level and have poorly maintained curbs and infrastructure that—in combination with an aging pumping system—can turn typical summer rainstorms into disruptive flooding. WaterWise is “thinking outside the pump” and using a range of green infrastructure

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projects to mimic natural processes, manage stormwater, filter pollution, and beautify neighborhoods as well as “slow down the water, so it’s not going to the pumping system all at once,” Supak said.

In New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, WaterWise and the Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association (BFNA) are implementing green infrastructure projects to reduce neighborhood flooding, said panelist Katherine Prevost, President and Executive Director of BFNA. Prevost described how the BFNA acquired two properties through the city’s “Fight the Blight” program, held community visioning sessions with neighborhood residents to identify green infrastructure projects for the lots, and worked with a landscape designer to create an implementation plan for the identified projects.

Flood-Resilience Projects: Spotlight on Resilience Hubs

Community Lighthouses in New Orleans: “It’s a Chance to Save Lives”

Panelist Broderick Bagert, an organizer with Together New Orleans (TNO), talked about turning churches and community centers into independently powered hubs during and in the aftermath of disasters. Power outages from Hurricane Ida (2021) contributed to a large percentage of storm-related deaths in Louisiana, Bagert said. Frustrated by the lack of government response, the TNO created the project Community Lighthouse to provide residents a place to go when the power goes out.

Using solar energy with a back-up battery, community lighthouses provide residents with energy and internet access, as well as food and water, during power outages and other emergencies, Bagert said. During “blue-sky” days (normal conditions), TNO canvasses the surrounding area to identify high-risk residents (such as those who depend on power for a medical device) that should be contacted within 24 hours of a disaster. As an additional benefit, building community lighthouses can connect residents to climate change solutions in a tangible way.

Financed by federal programs, local government, and philanthropic donations, the Community Lighthouse project aims to establish 86 locations across New Orleans: two locations are now open out of a pilot phase of 16 locations. “It’s a chance to save lives,” Bagert said, especially for people displaced from their community.

Resilience Centers in Panama City, FL: “We Have a Vision”

Panelist Donna Pilson, Executive Director of Rebuild Bay County (RBC) in Panama City, FL, talked about designing community resilience centers based on lessons learned from setting up an emergency shelter after Hurricane Michael (2018). “We have a vision,” Pilson said, “of having a place for folks to go when they need something,”—whether that be on “gray-sky” days (after a disaster) or blue-sky days. In terms of services, RBC is looking to provide “community lifelines”—housing, food and nutrition, energy, and more—because, “We have folks who need [these things] on a daily basis,” Pilson said. Pilson shared this advice: (1) develop partnerships (no one can do it alone), (2) get city and county governments to care (enough to invest in the community), and (3) make use of existing facilities in the community (like churches)—this is not only healthy for the congregation, but also healthy for the community.

BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE: ACTIONS THAT COULD ENHANCE FLOOD RESILIENCE IN NE HOUSTON

During each breakout session, participants were assigned to three groups and asked to consider how the knowledge that was shared throughout the workshop could inform actions that could enhance flood resilience in NE Houston. Each group had a diversity of community stakeholders, including WSR members (NE Houston residents); members from other community-based organizations from Houston, as well as from New Orleans, and Panama City; and researchers and practitioners who live in, work with, or provide services for NE Houston residents.

Breakout Session One: Community Resilience Hubs

Members of the first breakout session challenged participants to brainstorm ideas for community resilience hubs in NE Houston. They were asked to start with WSR’s current hub model and imagine how the hubs could be expanded—Who could the hubs serve? What services could the hub provide pre-, during-, and post-disaster? What capabilities would the hubs need to have? How could hubs be used outside of the disaster context over the next one, three, and five years? Below is a summary of what was discussed.

Where We Are: Hub Houses (HH) in Northeast Houston

Like the community resilience centers in Panama City, FL, and the community lighthouses in New Orleans, LA, WSR is developing hub houses (HHs) in NE Houston, said Brown. Led by CPR-certified captains, HHs are designated homes that are stocked with the basics (hot food, clean water, first-aid kits, etc.) and other resources

needed to address disasters and their effects, such as kayaks for flood rescues and solar back-up batteries and generators for power outages, Hirsh said. As they continue to enhance flood resilience in NE Houston neighborhoods, WSR is eager to expand their HHs and continue to bring their ideas to other flood-prone neighborhoods in Houston, said Brown and Hirsch.

Where We Want to Go: Expanding HHs in NE Houston

Members of Group 1 noted that larger HHs would require partnering with a bigger organization, like a church, which would require coordinating the management of these HHs before a disaster with the organization. This partnership could be strengthened by helping to pay the organization’s bills, adding security cameras, or cleaning playgrounds. At a block level, HHs could provide services such as canvassing before disasters to understand the needs of the immediate neighbors and ensuring necessary services are accessible at a nearby HH.

Members of Group 2 focused on what services an HH might offer. For example, the HH could help families develop a disaster plan, build green infrastructure, provide construction training, and offer collaborative grants before a disaster. During a disaster, the HH could serve as a temporary safe space, a central place for bus transportation to shelters, or a place to gather and distribute information. Immediately after a disaster, the HH could help organize home repairs and remediation and plan for indoor air quality monitoring. Outside of the disaster context, the HH could be centers for community information and research collaboration.

Members of Group 3 observed that an ideal HH would be “a place in the community where anyone can come to ask for help,” with a case manager coordinating all the services someone or a family might need. Crucially, the group wants to see government “invest in us” and provide flexible and adaptable services for different kinds of disasters and neighborhoods.

Breakout Session Two: Community-Informed and Community-Led Solutions to Flood Resilience

Members of the second breakout session challenged participants to brainstorm flood mitigation solutions for NE Houston. They were asked to discuss key issues; list community assets and strengths; brainstorm short-, mid-, and long-term flood mitigation solutions; and identify resources needed to implement these solutions. Table 2 provides a summary of the discussion in the breakout groups.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

At the end of the workshop, participants were invited to reflect on what was learned over the two days and share any key takeaways. Below is a summary of what was discussed.

“No Disaster Is Natural”

Most participants agreed that a major barrier to enhancing flood resilience in NE Houston is a perception that disasters are natural rather than the result of unjust decisions and policies. “No disaster is natural,” Hirsch said. Several participants described how racial discrimination, social injustice, and the marginalization of NE Houston communities from the decision-making process has led to an inequitable distribution of disaster impacts in their neighborhoods. WSR would like to incorporate justice and equity into research, policy, and decision-making, which includes identifying ways to hold the government accountable during and post disaster.

“Disciplinary Boundaries Are Not helpful”

Many participants also expressed a need for future research to explicitly consider the compounding impacts of flooding and environmental risks on health, as these issues are interwoven. “Disciplinary boundaries are not helpful,” Hirsch said. Given the seriousness of the issues in NE Houston, Hirsch hopes researchers take risks in approaching their work, look at alternatives to research designs that are not “business-as-usual,” and become more intentional about tying their research to specific justice-oriented outcomes and policies that will benefit communities.

“Too Much Research, Too Little Action”

Most participants agreed that research should be actionable. There is “too much research, too little action,” said one participant. Many participants from NE Houston expressed feelings of being over-studied and under-benefited with terms like “research saturation” and “research fatigue,” respectively. Some participants questioned whether collecting new data is always necessary or if existing data that the community already has, as well as other community assets, can be used to co-develop and co-implement actions to enhance flood resilience.

TABLE 2
Breakout Session Two: Summary of Responses on Community Assets and Strengths, Short, Mid, and Long-Term Flood Mitigation Solutions, and Resources Needed to Implement Solutions and Reduce Flood Risk

“Nothing About Us Without Us”

Participants from NE Houston also expressed a need for research to be community-centered and community-driven: “Nothing about us without us,” Brown said. Many participants—from both NE Houston and academic institutions—agreed that building trusted relationships with communities could help center research on their lived experiences. Hirsch encouraged researchers to “take risks” and “be bold” when it comes to community-driven research.

“Community Knowledge Is Valid”

The importance of trusting the community was a recurring theme: “Community knowledge is valid,” Hirsch emphasized. Participants from NE Houston expressed that what they learned at the workshop validated their concerns and expertise as community members. Likewise, several academic panelists acknowledged how their work validated community concerns and knowledge. For example, workshop co-host Scott Hemmerling, a senior research scientist for the Water Institute of the Gulf and

Chair of the CEST Planning Committee, emphasized how community knowledge gives context and greater depth to academic research: “We have scientific knowledge, but we also have local knowledge…people in the communities have more of an understanding of what goes on in their communities than any scientist in the state capitol…and that [is] what we want[ed] to tap into [at this workshop].”

DISCLAIMER This Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief was prepared by Taylor Kate Brown and Francisca Flores, as well as GRP staff, as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop. The statements made are those of the rapporteur and staff or individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

REVIEWERS To ensure that it meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity, this Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief was reviewed in draft form by Treasa Antony, Community Lattice; Richard Seline, Resilience Innovation Hub; Keri Stephens, University of Texas, Austin; and Meredith Young, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

PLANNING COMMITTEE Scott Hemmerling (Chair), Water Institute of the Gulf; Phillip R. Berke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; D. Patrick Jones, Eastern Washington University; Brooke Liu, University of Maryland; Michelle Meyer, Texas A & M University; Diana Mitsova, Florida Atlantic University; Hal Needham, Marine Weather and Climate; Monica Schoch-Spana, Johns Hopkins University; Larry J. Weber, University of Iowa

PARTNERS Ben Hirsch, West Street Recovery; Doris Brown, West Street Recovery and Northeast Action Collective; Brenda Tijerina, West Street Recovery

ATTENDEES Bayou City Waterkeepers; Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association; City of Houston, Office of Emergency Management; Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER); Community Lattice; Dana Brown & Associates; Harris County Precinct One; Harris County Public Health; Hofstra University; Houston Advisory and Learning Operation (HALO); Houston Air Alliance; Humana Integrated Health Sciences Institute; Jacksonville State University; Northeast Action Collective; Rebuild Bay County; Rice University; Rock Whisperer; Texas A & M University; Texas Housers; Texas State University; Together New Orleans; University of Houston; University of North Texas; University of Texas at El Paso; WaterWise Gulf South Collective; West Street Recovery

STAFF Charlene Milliken, Senior Program Officer; Francisca Flores, Program Officer; Laila Reimanis, Research Associate; Jessica Simms, Associate Program Officer; Juan Sandoval, Senior Program Assistant/Research Associate; Courtney Thompson, Associate Program Officer

SPONSORS This workshop was supported by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

For additional information regarding the workshop, visit: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/39945_04-2023_workshop-community-engagement-in-southeast-texas-pilot-project-to-enhance-community-capacity-and-resilience-to-floods-april-26-27-2023-houston-tx.

SUGGESTED CITATION National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Bridging Diverse Knowledge Systems to Address Flood Risk in Northeast Houston Communities: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27848.

Gulf Research Program Policy and Global Affairs Copyright 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.