Collaborative Research: Evaluating the Potential for Urban Resilience Planning to Mitigate Long-term Flood Risks

由于大多数社区将减灾规划与土地利用规划过程隔绝，洪灾造成的成本继续上升。复原力规划认识到灾害与城市面临的持续压力因素(如贫困、基础设施老化和社会不平等)之间的相互依存关系，已成为协调洪灾缓解和规划的新框架。该项目考察了如何将复原力转化为实践，它是否促进了城市部门和利益攸关方之间的合作，以及这种合作是否会导致更综合的计划，以降低洪水的脆弱性。在洪水对社区构成日益严重的威胁之际，将获得关于复原力规划如何塑造城市治理的新知识。因此，这项科学研究贡献支持了NSF促进科学进步和增进我们国家福利的使命。在这种情况下，好处将是当地从业者对复原力努力治理的洞察，以及联邦、州和非营利性官员如何培养地方复原力。该项目将通过开发和实施教育案例研究以及研究生在整个研究过程中的参与来培养未来的复原力规划专业人员。通过结合四个处于复原力规划前沿的城市的调查、访谈、社会网络分析和规划评估，该研究提供了有关治理结构和规划过程的关键和及时的信息，以应对长期的洪水风险。具体地说，本研究的目标是：(1)考察参与抗洪努力的公共、私人和社区行为者如何解释和实施抗洪能力的概念；(2)通过使用社会网络分析城市治理网络来表征围绕抗洪能力规划的组织间连通性；(3)评估和比较影响洪灾的不同类型城市规划的质量、一致性和整合水平；以及(4)评估不同抗洪能力概念和治理网络结构对城市的影响？计划和政策。该项目将把社会网络分析与规划质量和整合评估结合起来。通过将计划质量和集成与网络协作的措施进行比较，结果将解决被广泛引用的说法，即协作导致更好、更综合的计划，更有可能减少洪水破坏。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Costs from flooding continue to rise because of the isolation in most communities of hazard mitigation planning from land use planning processes. Resilience planning that recognizes the interdependencies between disasters and the constant stressors cities face, such as poverty, aging infrastructure, and social inequity, has emerged as a new framework to coordinate flood mitigation and planning. This project examines how resilience is translated into practice, whether it fosters collaboration across city departments and stakeholders, and if this collaboration leads to more integrative plans that reduce vulnerability to flooding. New knowledge will be acquired regarding how resilience planning shapes urban governance at a time when flooding poses an increasingly serious threat for communities. This scientific research contribution thus supports NSF's mission to promote the progress of science and to advance our national welfare. In this case, the benefits will be insights for local practitioners about the governance of resilience efforts and for federal, state, and non-profit officials on how to foster local resilience. The project will educate future resilience planning professionals through the development and implementation of educational case studies and participation of graduate students throughout the research process.By combining surveys, interviews, social network analysis, and plan evaluation in four cities at the forefront of resilience planning, this study provides critical and timely information about the governance structures and planning processes that address long-term flood risk. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to: (1) examine how public, private, and community actors who are engaged in flood mitigation efforts interpret and operationalize the concept of resilience; (2) characterize inter-organizational connectivity around flood resilience planning by analyzing urban governance networks with social network analysis; (3) assess and compare the quality, consistency, and level of integration among different types of city plans that impact flooding; and (4) evaluate the influence of different conceptualizations of resilience and governance network structures on cities? plans and policies. The project will combine social network analysis with assessment of plan quality and integration. By comparing plan quality and integration with measures of network collaboration, results will address the widely cited claim that collaboration leads to better and more integrated plans that are more likely to reduce flood damages.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.