Building Social Equity into Floodplain Buyouts

Murray, Grant Daniel

Fleming, Jason

Lipuma, Sarah

2021-04-30T15:07:05Z

2021-04-30T15:07:05Z

2021-04-30

Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

Increasingly frequent flood events have generated greater attention to voluntary floodplain buyouts, a tool to mitigate flood hazards by permanently moving people and properties out of harm’s way. While buyouts hold the promise of reducing flood risk by allowing the land to be used to store stormwater, they can also repeat inequitable practices of the past that have displaced vulnerable communities. Through a literature review, this study discusses the knowledge to date at the nexus between flood risk, social equity, and buyouts. The study uses geospatial tools to identify possible parcels for buyouts in a North Carolina town by focusing on the level of flood risk and proximity to natural areas. The resulting buyout scenarios are compared using a social vulnerability index and physical risk factors. The study concludes with recommendations to land use planners and floodplain managers at the state level for buyout decision-making. Incorporating social vulnerability information into buyout criteria will be valuable to administrators of buyout programs to identify the most at-risk populations, prioritize equity, and direct government funding to buyouts that benefit the entire community.

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22686

en_US

Flooding

Flood Risk

Buyouts

Climate change adaptation

Climate resilience

Social vulnerability

Building Social Equity into Floodplain Buyouts

Master's project

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