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Transportation disruptions from flooding often reflect and exacerbate pre-existing socioeconomic disparities in an area. This study seeks to create an equity-centered model to assist with the prioritization of transportation and flood mitigation projects. Accessibility to life-sustaining core services was used as a proxy for community vulnerability. Through spatial analyses, two distinct methodologies were developed to formulate a novel vulnerability index. Vulnerability in both methods was defined as a function of sensitivity and adaptive capacity. While both methods used a combination of socioeconomic, transportation, and flood data, the way in which risk was defined differed among the methods. Method 1 utilized roads identified as highly susceptible to damage from flooding within its definition of sensitivity. Using a network analysis, Method 2 expanded the number of roads classified as 'high risk' by incorporating drivetimes to core services and how they may be impacted by a flood. A comparison of the methods demonstrates that differing definitions of risk and sensitivity to flooding can have significant impacts on vulnerability indices, where Method 2 yielded more areas of high vulnerability compared to Method 1. While this study focuses on a section of southeast Michigan, the methods used can be applied to other communities facing socioeconomic disparities in flood-prone areas. |
