Analysis of Sea Level Rise Survey Distributed by Ventura County Planning
~Matthew Burdette, Leo Casiple, Deborah Gow
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Loredana Carson
“Sea level rise as the result of “climate change is one of the most complex issues (,) … involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics and moral and ethical questions” (NASA, 2020). Uncoordinated actions can negatively affect the trajectory of communities along the Ventura County coastline, alter the fiscal sustainability of the state of California, complicate the US defense strategy, and disturb the rhythm of the global economy. [From the opening remarks of the Capstone narrative.]
This team was assigned to a project brought to the department by the Ventura County Planning Division as part of their Ventura County Resilient Coastal Adaptation Project that is an ongoing effort to prepare the county for issues pertaining to sea level rise predicted to impact the county over the next century. Although some of the predictions may not occur until the end of the century, others may take place by or before the year 2030. Therefore, the county is actively working on planning that would mitigate the impact of rising waters on coastal communities throughout the county.
As part of the process, the county distributed a survey in December 2020 with the intent to gather information about community preferences pertaining to sea level rise planning activities and adaptation strategies designed to mitigate the impact of sea level rise. The 10-question survey asked respondents to detail their beach usage, as well as their preferences and opinions of various planning strategies currently under consideration.
The Capstone team was asked to prepare an analysis of the date, which included both qualitative and quantitative responses and to summarize the data in both a narrative and a graphic format for ease of sharing the analysis.
The objectives of the project were as follows:
- Organize the date, combining digital and paper responses and translating the Spanish versions to English. To ensure that all the data was entered into a single database for processing.
- Use Excel to analyze the quantitative responses and prepare visual charts and graphs to illustrate the responses to these questions utilizing descriptive statistics.
- Examine all qualitative responses to open-ended questions and code responses into thematic elements to present the findings in a meaningful synthesis of the responses.
- Provide conclusions and recommendations based on the analyzed data.
- Prepare a narrative report of the findings suitable for use by Ventura County Planning.
- Design a PowerPoint presentation slide deck to share with the Ventura County Planning Division at a department meeting. The same presentation can be modified to share with the MPPA and Cal Lutheran communities.
The Capstone team was able to complete all the goals set out for them and looks forward to sharing the results in the near future.