Embracing community science to study broadscale landscape change: successes, failures, challenges, issues of sustainability, and advice
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: With the rise of new technological tools/platforms, community science programs have expanded dramatically in both quantity and spatiotemporal reach. This growth is fueled by increasing demand for complex data, the cost of transitional fieldwork, and greater emphasis on public engagement. While community science holds immense potential to enhance public understanding and contribute to meaningful scientific research, it also presents unique challenges related to program design, implementation, and impact. This paper explores the successes, failures, and long-term considerations of such initiatives, drawing on relevant literature and direct experience from the Interdisciplinary Citizen-based Coastal Remote Sensing for Adaptive Management (IC-CREAM), a program developed to address landscape and environmental challenges. This paper highlights lessons in community engagement, communication strategies, and program sustainability. We argue that while community science programs offer transformative opportunities, they require thoughtful planning, adequate and ever adaptive resources, realistic expectations, and backup strategies to succeed and endure.
Source: Journal of Land Use Science
Institution: Michigan State University
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: diamond
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W7128475044