Understanding the Geography of Post-Traumatic Stress: An Academic Justification for Using a Spatial Video Acquisition System in the Response to Hurricane Katrina

In the aftermath of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, remote-sensing methods are often employed in an effort to assess damage. However, their utility may be limited by the aerial perspective and image resolution. The Spatial Video Acquisition System (SVAS), in conjunction with a Geographic Information System (GIS), has the potential to be a complementary methodology for obtaining damage assessment information as well as capturing recovery related geographies associated with post-traumatic stress. An example is provided from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans with data that could be used to predict neighborhood post-traumatic stress. Results reveal six dimensions in which a SVAS can improve existing disaster-related data collection approaches: organization, archiving, transferability, evaluation, objectivity, and feasibility.