Title

Community Hazard and Resource Mapping Tools for Disaster Mitigation

Relevance

{"ops":[{"insert":"Small and rural Texas communities face flooding, growth and economic vulnerability, yet most lack the specialized technical staff and tools to analyze complex data. For over a decade, CHARM (Community, Hazards, and Resource Management) has developed interactive mapping tools to help local officials, elected leaders, and engaged citizens work to answer critical\nquestions about their future: \nWhich areas flood?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Where should we guide development?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Where are our residents most at risk?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Do our public facilities support this vision?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"In 2025, reaching hundreds of communities at a time is our primary challenge. The solution requires innovation at scale- building entirely new planning applications and services for use by Texas Communities. Our technologies transforms local, state and federal data into useful and easy to access planning tools. Stakeholders can now explore future development\nscenarios together through intuitive interfaces, ensuring that planning decisions reflect collaborative community input.\nOur technologies include:\nCHARM Online for non-technical users- no training required."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"CommunityViz Pro for technical analysts conducting detailed studies."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The CHARM Data Grid- provides standardized data to both platforms."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"}]}

Response

{"ops":[{"insert":"Leveling the Playing Field: CHARM Online\nThe CHARM Online philosophy centers on making data and tools accessible to every community, not just those with technical staff and large budgets. Planning decisions should reflect community input and values, not technical barriers. We design for collaborations where county officials, elected leaders, and engaged citizens explore scenarios together through intuitive applications. Collaborative and data-driven planning is essential for every Texas community’s future.\n"}]}

Results

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Resiliency Technology Built to Scale:"},{"insert":"\nWe are developing our applications and data with sustainability and scale in mind. Open-source technologies reduces costs of\nmaintenance, and continuous user testing ensures that our tools meet real community needs. By creating one portfolio of our three technologies- CHARM Online, CommunityViz, and the Data Grid- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Disaster Assessment and Recovery unit is creating an ecosystem of resiliency technologies to serve hundreds of Texas communities in the future.\nOur compass is over a decade of CHARM in-person workshops from across Texas and around the Gulf Counties from around the state have helped us test our prototypes. In two years our data layer has grown from 75 to 250 attributes, continuing to deliver on collaborative and data driven decision-making.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Innovation At Scale:"},{"insert":"\nInnovation at scale demands engineering data systems and planning tools that empower hundreds of communities at once, transforming university research and planning best practices into accessible resources that help all Texans make better planning decisions for their future.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Locally Intelligent:"},{"insert":"\nBuilt by AgriLife Extension, our data layer tracks 250 different types of data for each community block. This allows communities to visualize growth, fiscal impacts, natural resources, and hazards.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"7.5 Billion:"},{"insert":"\nThe number of data points representing state and federal data across 150 Texas Counties. This is one of the most comprehensive and standardized data sets available for planning\n"}]}

Public Value Statement

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Data + Collaboration = Results"},{"insert":"\nWhen data takes weeks to process, collaboration waits. When tools require technical expertise, community input narrows.\nWe’re working to eliminate both barriers through planning workflows that keep data current and a user experience designed for non-technical users. The design of CHARM Online enables real-time engagement around scenarios, building consensus at the pace of collaboration. Accessible data empowers communities and experts alike to make together informed decisions about the future by transforming planning into community-driven action.\n"}]}

Primary Focus Area

Youth, Family, & Communities

Secondary Focus Area

Other

Impact Statement