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Flood recovery and property acquisition in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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  • Eric Tate
  • Aaron Strong
  • Travis Kraus
  • Haoyi Xiong

Abstract

Voluntary property acquisitions are playing an increasingly prominent role in the aftermath of US flood disasters, as policy tools for community recovery and hazard mitigation. Following historic flooding in 2008, the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, instituted a federally supported program for the acquisition of over 1300 damaged properties. Using Cedar Rapids as a case study, this article investigates post-flood property acquisition from the perspectives of cost effectiveness and social equity. To assess economic viability, a benefit-cost analysis was performed at the parcel scale. Social equity was assessed using a social vulnerability index tailored to flood recovery. The results indicate that the property acquisitions are cost effective based on the avoidance of future flood losses, and prioritize socially vulnerable neighborhoods. The dual economic and social analysis sheds light on the capacity of federally supported buyouts to support holistic post-disaster planning and decision-making. Copyright The Author(s) 2016

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  • Eric Tate & Aaron Strong & Travis Kraus & Haoyi Xiong, 2016. "Flood recovery and property acquisition in Cedar Rapids, Iowa," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(3), pages 2055-2079, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:80:y:2016:i:3:p:2055-2079
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-015-2060-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. William Mobley & Kayode O. Atoba & Wesley E. Highfield, 2020. "Uncertainty in Flood Mitigation Practices: Assessing the Economic Benefits of Property Acquisition and Elevation in Flood-Prone Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Thomas Thaler, 2021. "Just retreat—how different countries deal with it: examples from Austria and England," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 11(3), pages 412-419, September.
    4. Cheney Shreve, 2016. "Economic Efficiency or Gender Equality: Conceptualizing an Equitable “Social Framing” for Economic Evaluations to Support Gender Equality in Disaster Risk- and Environmental-Management Decision-Making," Resources, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Cristina E. Muñoz & Eric Tate, 2016. "Unequal Recovery? Federal Resource Distribution after a Midwest Flood Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Julia Cardwell, 2023. "Community perceptions of a floodplain buyout program in Charlotte, North Carolina," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(3), pages 2141-2160, February.
    7. Rahimi-Golkhandan, Armin & Aslani, Babak & Mohebbi, Shima, 2022. "Predictive resilience of interdependent water and transportation infrastructures: A sociotechnical approach," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Chabba, Meenakshi & Bhat, Mahadev G. & Sarmiento, Juan Pablo, 2022. "Risk-based benefit-cost analysis of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction with considerations of co-benefits, equity, and sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. William Curran-Groome & Hallee Haygood & Miyuki Hino & Todd K. BenDor & David Salvesen, 2021. "Assessing the full costs of floodplain buyouts," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 1-23, September.
    10. A. R. Siders, 2019. "Social justice implications of US managed retreat buyout programs," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 239-257, January.
    11. Marilyn Montgomery & Howard Kunreuther, 2018. "Pricing Storm Surge Risks in Florida: Implications for Determining Flood Insurance Premiums and Evaluating Mitigation Measures," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(11), pages 2275-2299, November.
    12. Pollack, Adam & Helgeson, Casey & Kousky, Carolyn & Keller, Klaus, 2023. "Transparency on underlying values is needed for useful equity measurements," OSF Preprints kvyxr, Center for Open Science.
    13. Ayat Al Assi & Rubayet Bin Mostafiz & Carol J. Friedland & Robert V. Rohli & Arash Taghinezhad & Md Adilur Rahim, 2023. "Cost-effectiveness of federal CDBG-DR Road Home Program mitigation assistance in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 117(2), pages 1291-1319, June.
    14. Beth Tellman & Cody Schank & Bessie Schwarz & Peter D. Howe & Alex de Sherbinin, 2020. "Using Disaster Outcomes to Validate Components of Social Vulnerability to Floods: Flood Deaths and Property Damage across the USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-28, July.

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