Visualizing the Future of Louisiana’s Coastline

In this paper, we summarize the research efforts undertaken by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) during their 2023 Coastal Master Plan planning period, and the tools created by the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) to support them in their efforts. Specifically, we introduce the Master Plan Data Viewer and explore how creating interactive accompaniments for print material is a key element in the community’s goal of data democratization. This proof of concept focused on creating an easy-to-use geospatial data portal that would reduce barriers to entry, tell the story of the master plan, and inform Louisiana residents of the potential changes to their state’s coast.