Title

Improving critical facility accessibility and equity in coastal communities

Abstract

Ensuring reliable access to healthcare facilities during disasters is the premise of a resilient community. However, transportation network that connects people and places faces great challenges from flood-induced disruptions. Delaware, in particular, has a greater proportion of land at coastal flood risk which is further increasing due to climate change. In this research, we aim to examine communities' accessibility to critical facilities in facing the 100-year flood impact. A network-theory-based method is used to assess different communities’ ability to access hospitals during flooding. The flood-induced partial road failure is accounted for through the travel speed reduction. The model highlights the severe access loss risk due to flood isolation of facilities, which disproportionately affects communities’ well-being. We integrate social vulnerability metrics to help inform resilience planning toward an equitable community. The results of this research can help inform targeted infrastructure investment decisions and hazard mitigation strategies that contribute to tackling the impact of climate change and sea-level rise on communities' access to critical facilities.

Presentation

TBD

Speaker Bio

Dr. Shangjia Dong is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, a core faculty member of the Disaster Research Center (DRC), and a member of the Coastal Hazards, Equity, Economic prosperity & Resilience (CHEER) Hub at the University of Delaware. His research revolves around understanding the complex dynamics between human and infrastructure systems during disasters. He aims to establish an algorithmic and theoretical framework to assess community resilience and equity, which can facilitate risk-informed decision-making for climate change adaptation, critical infrastructure protection, effective disaster preparedness and response, equitable resilience planning and operationalization, and smart operation and design of urban infrastructure. Dr. Dong takes an interdisciplinary research approach, drawing on models and insights from civil engineering, social science, public policy, urban planning, public health, and network science. Dr. Dong received M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a minor in Computer Science from Oregon State University, following which he completed post-doctoral research training in the Urban Resilience lab at Texas A&M University.

Speaker Headshot