Ground the explanation in place
A recognizable local landscape makes an abstract environmental issue tangible.
Interactive
Stormwater Story Map & Dashboard
Neighborhood Design Center, Annapolis MD
An interactive story map and dashboard presenting the Neighborhood Design Center’s stormwater work.
Selected project · Stormwater StoryMap & Dashboard
Making stormwater
solutions visible.
An interactive story connecting flooding in Annapolis, the surfaces that shape runoff, and the Neighborhood Design Center’s work to reduce the impact of heavy rain.
The challenge
Connect a local problem
to possible solutions.
Following severe flooding, the Neighborhood Design Center was addressing ways to mitigate the impact of heavy rains. The project needed to connect a visible problem—flooding—with the less visible relationships between the built environment, runoff, and landscape design.
Created at MICA in partnership with NDC, this StoryMap combines geographic context, visual explanation, and project data. I created all of the work shown, bringing the material into a narrative that moves from the problem to practical responses.
01
Storytelling through maps
Show how the city’s
surfaces shape the story.
The StoryMap focuses on Annapolis, pairing short explanations with maps of paved and unpaved surfaces. Moving between these views gives readers a concrete way to explore the built environment and its relationship to stormwater.
Screenshots from the original project. Select either image to enlarge.
Introduce one idea at a time
Short narrative passages guide readers through successive map views.
Connect conditions to responses
The story progresses toward trees, rain gardens, and other landscape approaches to managing stormwater.
The narrative
From flooding
to understanding
to action.
The sequence links the local context to the role of surface materials and planting, then introduces NDC’s work.
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Establish the problem
Begin with flooding in Annapolis and the need to reduce the impact of heavy rain.
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Explain the relationships
Use maps and images to connect paved surfaces, runoff, and opportunities for absorption.
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Show possible responses
Introduce approaches such as tree planting, reforestation, rain gardens, and stormwater plantings.
02
Project dashboard
Bring a body of work
into one view.
The dashboard brings NDC’s stormwater-related projects together by category, location, and time. Shared illustrated category symbols connect the map and timeline, and the interactive Tableau dashboard lets readers explore those views by project type.
Explore the dashboard full-screen ↗
Use the dashboard’s category icons to explore the projects. If the embed does not load or feels cramped on your device, open the full-screen version.
Connect place and time
The map and timeline offer complementary ways to explore the project collection.
Link views through symbols
Consistent category icons help readers follow project types across the display.
Invite exploration
Category filtering gives readers a way to focus on a particular area of NDC’s work.
The finished project
A visual explanation
built for exploration.
The StoryMap and dashboard bring environmental context and organizational project data into one experience. Together, they show how I use narrative, maps, and visual consistency to help readers understand a complex topic and explore it for themselves.
View the interactive StoryMap ↗
MICA academic project · Created in partnership with the Neighborhood Design Center · 2019.