UC Davis

This dissertation's root is a belief in the goodness of places, people, and placemaking. My experience has shown me that people are deeply affected by being in places, which can manifest in loving care, fierce protection, “restoration,” or other desires for future transformations. My dissertation focuses on places undergoing or anticipating changes either by disaster or design that are part of what is collectively referred to as California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or the Delta. The collection of articles that form my dissertation chronicles related efforts to sense how people are affected by being in the Delta and how these diverse experiences can change how we plan for just Delta’s futures. Together, these chapters describe parts of a pluriverse Delta, a Delta in which many understandings and ways of being fit - but not without friction. The methods employed represent different modes of sensing, with their own affordances and limitations, all providing a partial, situated perspective. These modes of sensing are currently not widely used in understanding the Delta’s wicked problems but could expand to augment and perhaps challenge the biophysical understandings. I am excited to be contributing ideas to what I hope is a growing conversation regarding the use of new methods and modes of sensing to understand and intervene responsibly in the coevolution of the Delta.