Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana August 29, 2005 Exposed inner-city populations increased vulnerability to extreme weather events.
Mapping Nashville's Red Cross Emergency Shelters with Geospatial Technology: A Pearl-Cohn High School and TSU Community Engagement Partnership
University (TSU) students enrolled in two service learning courses, Weather & Climate (GEOG 3500) and Urban Geography (GEOG 4850), exposed Pearl-Cohn High School students to data and information related to innercity emergency preparedness and response. The TSU volunteers assisted their Pearl-Cohn mentees in using geographical information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) to map locations of Nashville Red Cross emergency shelters. The Pearl-Cohn students were enrolled in Mrs. Debbie Hirschs Technology Class. The project is funded by a State Farm Good Neighbor Service Learning Grant and supported in part by the TSU Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies.
Pearl-Cohn High School students are trained in GIS by TSU undergraduate students using learning modules developed by the National Center for Rural STEM Education Outreach James Madison University http://www.isat.jmu.edu/stem/
Pearl Cohn Students Individually Create Excel Spreadsheets from Shelter List
Project Outcomes
May 2009 - The Pearl-Cohn High School students produced the first maps of the locations of Nashvilles Red Cross Emergency Shelters. Prior to this project, no such maps existed.
May 2009 - Red Cross Emergency Shelters mapping project reveals that the 37208 zip code area is underserved in terms of emergency shelter availability.
May 2009 -- Each Pearl-Cohn High School student and their teacher, Mrs. Debbie Hirsch, was presented a volunteer award certificate by the Nashville Chapter of the American Red Cross
Acknowledgements Debbie Hirsch (Technology Teacher), Bev Jacobs (Imagine College Director) and Marva Woods (Principal) PearlCohn Business Magnet High School State Farm Insurance Company The American Red Cross Nashville Chapter Environmental Systems Research Institute The TSU Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies All students enrolled in Mrs. Debbie Hirschs Technology Class during the 2008-2009 academic year All students enrolled in Dr. David A. Padgetts Weather & Climate (GEOG 3500) and Urban Geography (GEOG 4850) during the 2008-2009 academic year
St. Paul AME Church serves as an impromptu emergency shelter during the May 2010 flood.
Survey (1 variable from the 2010 SF1) Tract Level- small statistical subdivisions of a County 2,500-8,000 people
Variables placed in a modified social vulnerability
GIS 9.3.1.
From the mapped data the relationship between
Population 3,120 people 46% identified as Hispanic or Latino More than 45% of the population had less than a high
school education
28% reported having no transportation 87% reported that they rented rather than owned their
homes.
higher
On average earned at least $47,000 less Unemployment rates that were 4.5x higher Median Household value $300,000 less 4 times more likely to not own a personal automobile 14 times less likely to speak English proficiently.
distributed in at least English and Spanish Plans will also need to address evacuation possibilities for those without transportation and special needs Consider a local registry of those who may require evacuation assistance
Increased initiatives to decrease the socio-demographic
education
Less than 4,000 homes had flood insurance prior to the
2010 Floods though more than 15,000 parcels were known to be in the 100 year flood plain
Re-investment in current housing stock of vulnerable
communities
Disproportionate proportion of wealth tied to housing
in minority communities Hazard Mitigation Grant Buyout Program Pilot housing development projects