ABSTRACT

This study explored to examine the potential impacts of population change and processes associated with urban development and land use changes on damage levels due to Hurricane Harvey in the greater Houston area. Results from linear mixed effects modeling suggested that certain social and demographic aspects of urbanization such as population growth, increase in the number of housing units, and management and professional occupations can be detrimental to the ecosystem of the greater Houston area. Another important finding was that damage-levels due to the hurricane were more severe in zip codes characterized by declines in median household income and increased unemployment. Emergency response planning and mitigation should focus on these areas.

摘要

本研究探索了人口变化以及与城市发展和土地利用变化相关的过程对大休斯顿地区飓风哈维造成的破坏水平的潜在影响。线性混合效应模型的结果表明，城市化的某些社会和人口方面，如人口增长、住房单元数量的增加以及管理和专业职业，可能对大休斯顿地区的生态系统有害。另一个重要发现是，飓风造成的破坏程度在以家庭收入中位数下降和失业率上升为特征的邮政编码中更为严重。应急响应计划和缓解措施应侧重于这些领域。