For generations, low-lying land was the least desirable, and thus communities of the economically vulnerable tended to form in those areas. As sea levels rise, adaptation creates unique challenges in those communities. Researchers aim to investigate the interaction of sea-level rise stressors, physical conditions of civil infrastructure, and the vulnerability of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations in South Carolina. The goal is to identify adaptations that can improve resilience for low-income families.
Researchers will combine interactive sea-level rise projections with mapping of socioeconomically vulnerable populations, and then suggest how design, operation, and management of physical infrastructure networks can impact resilience, with a focus on low-income communities. The information will be shared with public agencies that make infrastructure decisions, including the S.C. Department of Transportation, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, and S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority.
Project Findings
Researchers collected and analyzed two sets of data: one for August 24–September 10, 2019, during Hurricane Dorian; and one for the same dates in 2020, when no tropical storms approached South Carolina. The project team conducted “sentiment analysis” using content posted to Twitter to track the risk perceptions of households during the natural disaster, and the following year during calm weather. Twitter (now X) data were analyzed using topic detection and labeling to find physical vulnerabilities and failures of critical infrastructure, such as power outages and flooding. Demographic, socioeconomic, and occupation data were collected at the Census Tract level to develop a database of community characteristics. Tweets were geo- and temporally-coded, and sentiments were spatially clustered to identify regional trends and map the regional and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Researchers found that sentiment analysis using social networks was useful for near-real-time detection of events such as flooding and power outages, as well as for identifying different types of vulnerabilities to natural disasters and their underlying causes. Results suggest that sentiment analysis may facilitate quick decision-making for the allocation of resources to vulnerable communities in areas where major disaster events or infrastructure failures are detected.
Resulting Publications
Batouli, M., Joshi, D. (2022). “Natural Disasters, Inequality, and Civil Infrastructure Systems: Developing Equitable Pathways toward Resilience.” Construction Research Congress.
Batouli,M., Joshi,D. (2023). “Pathway to Socially Sustainable Adaptation: Real-Time and Context-Specific Vulnerability Assessment for Smart and Equitable Response to Natural Disasters.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Volume 151, Issue 2.