ABSTRACT

Registering as one of the most costly storms in the U.S., Hurricane Harvey resulted in massive damages along the Texas coast with catastrophic winds and storm surges from record rainfall totals and flood-related deterioration in August of 2017. While several studies have contributed to shed light on factors of housing, environmental justice, and engineering processes with regard to Hurricane Harvey impacts, contributions of a holistic sustainable approach including environmental, economic, and social systems have been under-explored. Our research aims to examine these three pillars with regard to flood mitigation strategies in the case of Hurricane Harvey by examining Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston. The research findings show that the park enhances biodiversity remarkably, sequesters 9.19 tons of atmospheric carbon, and intercepts 84,000 gallons of stormwater runoff annually. It contributes to economic benefits as well as improves access to the park within a 10-minute walk to almost 40,000 residents and promotes cultural value and public health outputs as demonstrated by over 90% of survey respondents regarding the quality of life and sense of well-being.

摘要

作为美国损失最惨重的风暴之一，飓风哈维在 2017 年 8 月创纪录的降雨总量和与洪水相关的恶化带来了灾难性的风和风暴潮，在德克萨斯州海岸造成了大规模破坏。 虽然一些研究有助于阐明在与飓风哈维影响有关的住房、环境正义和工程过程因素方面，包括环境、经济和社会系统在内的整体可持续方法的贡献尚未得到充分探索。我们的研究旨在通过研究休斯顿的布法罗河口公园，在飓风哈维的情况下，研究这三个与洪水缓解策略相关的支柱。研究结果表明，该公园显着增强了生物多样性，封存了 9.19 吨大气碳，拦截了 84、每年 000 加仑的雨水径流。正如超过 90% 的调查受访者在生活质量和幸福感方面所证明的那样，它有助于提高经济效益，并改善近 40,000 名居民在 10 分钟步行路程内进入公园的机会，并促进文化价值和公共卫生产出——存在。