Mapping Territoriality and Legal Geographies Across Florida’s Beaches

Keywords: paticipitory, legal geography, public space
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 33

Abstract

With the passage of Florida’s HB 631 in 2018, the pendulum of power to legally reduce and enforce public beach access to smaller and smaller areas further revealed an ongoing territorial tension. These tensions are not limited to economic class and extend to different classifications of coastal stakeholders such as residents vs. more transitory uses of these spaces, such as seasonal vacationers. However, given the importance of tourism in Florida and that much of the beach is still in the public domain, measuring public access level and quality is imperative. This presentation discusses sketch mapping and other participatory survey exercises designed to measure the perceived territorial tensions across several beaches. This research provides a framework for investigating how truly accessible public beaches are. These methods can be used for informing communities about the beaches level and quality as public spaces. To carry out our study, we utilize participatory methods to map the spaces of tension between public and private access to beaches. Specific methods utilized include sketch mapping, audio/photography, geo-journaling, and time-geographic mappings. The result is a narrative around the legal geographic nuances of public/private beaches across Florida as a case study.