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An Inter-Agency Approach to Planning for Transportation System Resilience for Underserved Populations and General Populations: Case Study Applications to Georgia and Texas

Evolving climate disasters and the pandemic are a persistent reminder that lower levels of social equity can leave populations vulnerable. There is mounting evidence that while resilience is determined by the weakest link in the (supply)chain, its effects tend to impact the entire (supply) chain and communities it serves. As climate disasters evolve in frequency and magnitude, and in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, transportation agencies will manage system performance better as they become more resilient. This research project aims to assemble a comprehensive methodology from a wide range of methods to assess the resilience of selected case study transportation systems and the communities they serve. The methods include GIS application for multi-hazard exposure and vulnerability analysis, adaptive resilience capabilities maturity assessment, resilience metrics assessment, case studies, comparative institutional analysis, and transportation equity analysis. The project team will characterize the evolving resilience of underserved and general populations, and make recommendations to strengthen system resilience. Properly assessing the resilience of transportation systems is not easy because they are complex adaptive systems. Sound methodologies are needed to assess transportation system resilience defensibly and make recommendations to strengthen resilience to climate and other known hazards, as well as unknown hazards (e.g., COVID-19 before it occurred). The team will build on knowledge gained from ongoing and recent projects to assess the resilience of Georgia’s, Florida’s and Texas’ transportation systems, demonstrating a comprehensive resilience assessment approach. Applying case-based reasoning, the team will offer both targeted and general recommendations to build resilience for underserved and general populations. The project team expect this project to add value to transportation agencies and the communities they serve by outlining specific ways to enhance the resiliency of their planning and decision-making mindset, institutions, processes and tools in a manner that develops resilience comparably for both the underserved and general populations they serve.