Resilient and Equitable Accessibility

Taking into account societal vulnerability in decision making on the placement of flood adaptation policies in an urban setting

Master thesis (2021)

Authors

L. Lourens Technology, Policy and Management

Contributors

T. Verma Policy Analysis - TPM (mentor)
G.P. van Wee Transport and Logistics - TPM (graduation committee member)
B.A. Jafino Policy Analysis - TPM (coach)
Faculty
Technology, Policy and Management, Technology, Policy and Management
Copyright: © 2021 Lotte Lourens
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Published Date

09-12-2021

Language

English

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Faculty

Technology, Policy and Management

Abstract

Transportation systems are being put under increasing pressure in urban areas. These systems are concentrated, highly used and vulnerable to rainfall-induced disruptions. Improving the resilience of infrastructure systems to these disruptions has become a vital aspect of managing an urban area that is both economically viable as well as liveable. Studies show that disruptions disproportionally impact low-income and minority groups and with that lead to increased inequalities. Cities have increased their focus on resilience assessments but have stopped short of how different societal groups are affected by a disruption, and how interventions can impact societal groups differently.

In this research the effect of different equity principles in the context of decision-making for resilient transport infrastructure is being addressed. Three different equity principles, namely Equal Sharing, Rawl’s Theory of Justice, and Utilitarianism, are being compared to understand how the benefits that arise from possible interventions are being distributed over society. To do so, a methodology has been developed and applied to the case study of The Hague. This research studied the accessibility in business-as-usual conditions, accessibility after a rainfall-induced disruption and accessibility for different societal groups after interventions are placed based on the three equity principles.

The results show that i) depending on the underlying equity principle a different intervention location is prioritized. Simply changing the underlying assumptions on which the interventions are placed, changes the impact significantly for the most socially vulnerable group and the general population. To reduce inequalities in accessibility, it is important to increase awareness amongst policymakers and researchers that the most common (sometimes unconsciously) used equity principle underlying decision making is the Utilitarian principle. As is being illustrated in this research, there are other options that could greatly influence the preferred intervention and with that the impact to different societal groups.