Trade-Offs Between Social Equity and Ecological Benefits When Targeting Floodplain Buyouts for Natural Infrastructure Provision
Date
2026-03-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Repository Usage Stats
views
downloads
Attention Stats
Abstract
Damages resulting from coastal and riverine flooding in the United States exceed $32 billion annually and cause accelerating societal impacts, with disproportionate disruptions to the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations. Two approaches for flood risk mitigation include managed retreat from flood-prone areas, implemented in US buyout programs, and the construction of nature-based solutions (NBS). This study considers how buyout patterns change under an NBS-focused approach that explicitly removes the political process in selecting a buyout location and instead targets parcels within the floodplain based solely on post-acquisition wetland restoration suitability. The findings of this study reveal a key, multidimensional trade-off associated with buyout targeting in terms of environmental, economic or financial, and social equity.
Type
Department
Description
Provenance
Subjects
Citation
Permalink
Citation
Vegh, Tibor, and Todd K BenDor (2026). Trade-Offs Between Social Equity and Ecological Benefits When Targeting Floodplain Buyouts for Natural Infrastructure Provision. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/34321.
Collections
Scholars@Duke
Tibor Vegh
Tibor Vegh serves as a senior policy associate with the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. He is an applied social scientist with a background in environmental planning and economics. Vegh’s applied and policy-relevant research centers on the resilience of coupled human and natural systems; the economic, social, and environmental implications within the context of coastal adaptation; and the reliance on natural systems to benefit communities in the face of uncertainty and environmental risks. Vegh is a lead or collaborator on a wide range of projects where he contributes his economic, financial, and policy analysis skills, as well as his understanding of environmental planning approaches to solve real-world problems.
Vegh’s most recent work focuses on the social and economic aspects of coastal and urban resilience and multidimensional adaptation to risks in coastal and ocean systems. He has also collaborated on projects spanning many other topics, including fisheries economics, plastics pollution mitigation, ecological restoration, ecosystem service markets, bioenergy, and more.
Vegh holds a PhD in city and regional planning with a focus on environmental planning from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He earned his master's degree in forestry with a focus on economics from Northern Arizona University in 2011 and his bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in mathematics from North Carolina State University in 2008.
Material is made available in this collection at the direction of authors according to their understanding of their rights in that material. You may download and use these materials in any manner not prohibited by copyright or other applicable law.