Restoring and Re-Storying the Hidden Cultural Landscape of the Colorado River Basin

Profs. Collins, Drum, Rowe, and Margolis will create an “augmented reality” geographic information system (GIS) that explores hidden dimensions of the Colorado River Basin. By capturing subjective experiences of this important watershed as well as by compiling local knowledge of it, they intend to “re-story” or reconfigure the identity of the Basin in order to sustain cultural practices connected to it.

Beyond its relevance to our regional watershed — Arizona’s water supply is sourced from the Colorado River — the broader goal of this technology-based study is to understand how user knowledge of place can be structured to enable and encourage community dialogue and action. Participatory GIS, augmented reality programs, and social media can store and enhance cultural resources, environmental data, and contextual information because it can tailor data to the unique requirements of communities. It can encourage dialogue and action around many pivotal place-based topics, including community identity, neighborhood revitalization, healthcare, sustainability, land-use management, and environmental education.

This project was sponsered by the Institute for Humanities Research.