Building Equity into Resiliency Planning

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Why the current approach to cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) deliver projects that inherently favor higher-income areas
• How to understand the equity-based value of money concept and how its inclusion in CBAs would change the results and, thus, what we build
• How to apply the framework for this equity-based CBA approach to a resiliency-planning-related project in your city

MORE SESSION DETAILS

Since the Flood Control Act of 1939, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has provided a reliable framework from which planners could evaluate and scale flood-risk infrastructure projects. In general, costs are calculated based on the investment requirements of different project alternatives, and benefits are measured by projected flood damages avoided over a discrete amount of time. Fundamental to CBA is the principle of time-value of money whereby a dollar held today is more valuable than an identical amount sometime in the future. Overlooked, however, is the principle of equity-weighted value of money whereby a dollar held by someone from a lower socioeconomic level is more valuable than an identical amount held by someone from a higher socioeconomic level. By not implementing equity weights in CBA, planners unfairly justify flood-defense projects with higher levels of protection in wealthier areas based on the greater amount of value at risk relative to poorer communities. Applying this principle correctly balances the scales and yields more equitable flood-defense systems. The objective of this session will be to share research examining equity-weighted benefits as a best practice for planning flood defenses using sea-level-rise projects in Boston as a real-world example.