Divergent priorities in flood adaptation
Actions to reduce flood risk often appear to run counter to other societal goals, and resolving these conflicts is important as flood adaptations increasingly transform settlements and societies. Here, we evaluate the tensions between flood risk reduction and other priorities in the context of volun...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Climate |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/adecba |
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| author | Jennifer Niemann-Morris A R Siders Miyuki Hino Caroline M Kraan Armen Agopian Christopher Samoray Katharine J Mach |
| author_facet | Jennifer Niemann-Morris A R Siders Miyuki Hino Caroline M Kraan Armen Agopian Christopher Samoray Katharine J Mach |
| author_sort | Jennifer Niemann-Morris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Actions to reduce flood risk often appear to run counter to other societal goals, and resolving these conflicts is important as flood adaptations increasingly transform settlements and societies. Here, we evaluate the tensions between flood risk reduction and other priorities in the context of voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties in the United States—a controversial flood response to restore land to open space, but with trade-offs. We apply a nation-wide systematic review (133 literature references, 1983–2023) to assess goals stated for buyouts and combine it with a comprehensive media analysis (281 media articles, 1993–2023) to compare those goals to the experiences and results perceived by buyout implementers, residents, and other practitioner groups. Across the systematic-review literature, flood risk reduction dominates goals expressed for buyouts (62.6% of documented goals), and local government predominates in this goal setting (61.7% of documented goals). However, involved and affected actors—especially residents—perceive outcomes beyond flood risk reduction, most notably in the experiences of buyout implementation itself (35.5% of documented resident perceptions) and in results impacting social and economic priorities (49.5%). Despite the difficulties of buyouts, the systematic-review literature largely reflects positive perceived outcomes (79.4% of outcome sentiments, weighing each buyout location equally), but nonprofit organizations and residents perceive largely negative outcomes. Media coverage related to buyouts is more negative than positive but with improved sentiments through time. Our findings point to the importance of designing, implementing, and evaluating flood adaptations not just as flood control measures given their consequences for other societal objectives. The uneven documentation on buyouts also implies opportunities to learn from contexts where buyouts have been integrated into everyday life with little fanfare, through mechanisms either novel or perhaps routine, yielding insights into making ambitious climate adaptations a common, more ordinary, and increasingly imperative occurrence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8f10ac1c79f641f292b60e9f661f1d01 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2752-5295 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Climate |
| spelling | doaj-art-8f10ac1c79f641f292b60e9f661f1d012025-08-22T16:06:39ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Climate2752-52952025-01-014303501210.1088/2752-5295/adecbaDivergent priorities in flood adaptationJennifer Niemann-Morris0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4531-9846A R Siders1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6788-8313Miyuki Hino2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9369-5769Caroline M Kraan3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9759-3348Armen Agopian4https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6379-8759Christopher Samoray5https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0416-640XKatharine J Mach6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5591-8148Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami , Miami, FL, United States of America; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami , Coral Gables, FL, United States of AmericaDisaster Research Center, University of Delaware , Newark, DE, United States of America; Biden School of Public Policy and Administration and Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware , Newark, DE, United States of AmericaDepartment of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America; Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami , Miami, FL, United States of America; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami , Coral Gables, FL, United States of America; Deltares , Delft, The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami , Miami, FL, United States of America; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami , Coral Gables, FL, United States of AmericaDepartment of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami , Miami, FL, United States of America; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami , Coral Gables, FL, United States of AmericaActions to reduce flood risk often appear to run counter to other societal goals, and resolving these conflicts is important as flood adaptations increasingly transform settlements and societies. Here, we evaluate the tensions between flood risk reduction and other priorities in the context of voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties in the United States—a controversial flood response to restore land to open space, but with trade-offs. We apply a nation-wide systematic review (133 literature references, 1983–2023) to assess goals stated for buyouts and combine it with a comprehensive media analysis (281 media articles, 1993–2023) to compare those goals to the experiences and results perceived by buyout implementers, residents, and other practitioner groups. Across the systematic-review literature, flood risk reduction dominates goals expressed for buyouts (62.6% of documented goals), and local government predominates in this goal setting (61.7% of documented goals). However, involved and affected actors—especially residents—perceive outcomes beyond flood risk reduction, most notably in the experiences of buyout implementation itself (35.5% of documented resident perceptions) and in results impacting social and economic priorities (49.5%). Despite the difficulties of buyouts, the systematic-review literature largely reflects positive perceived outcomes (79.4% of outcome sentiments, weighing each buyout location equally), but nonprofit organizations and residents perceive largely negative outcomes. Media coverage related to buyouts is more negative than positive but with improved sentiments through time. Our findings point to the importance of designing, implementing, and evaluating flood adaptations not just as flood control measures given their consequences for other societal objectives. The uneven documentation on buyouts also implies opportunities to learn from contexts where buyouts have been integrated into everyday life with little fanfare, through mechanisms either novel or perhaps routine, yielding insights into making ambitious climate adaptations a common, more ordinary, and increasingly imperative occurrence.https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/adecbaflood adaptationvoluntary property buyoutsmanaged retreatmonitoring and evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer Niemann-Morris A R Siders Miyuki Hino Caroline M Kraan Armen Agopian Christopher Samoray Katharine J Mach Divergent priorities in flood adaptation Environmental Research: Climate flood adaptation voluntary property buyouts managed retreat monitoring and evaluation |
| title | Divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| title_full | Divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| title_fullStr | Divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| title_short | Divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| title_sort | divergent priorities in flood adaptation |
| topic | flood adaptation voluntary property buyouts managed retreat monitoring and evaluation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/adecba |
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