Voluntary home buyout programs have gained increasing popularity as a natural hazard mitigation tool over the past couple decades. However, a strong emphasis on the monetary value of disaster mitigation leaves open the possibility of inequity in distribution of the benefits of buyouts that may exacerbate social justice issues under conditions of increasing disaster damages due to climate change. Using a complete dataset of U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funded buyout properties we describe the demographic makeup of neighborhoods and counties that have participated in FEMA buyout programs since the 1980s and evaluate differential disadvantages in the chances of receiving a buyout and the amount of money received by buyout participants across characteristics associated with social vulnerability. We find that urban counties with greater resources are more likely to receive funds to administer a buyout program, and that within these counties, minority homeowners are less likely to receive federal aid dollars. In addition, we identify a trend of increasing disparity specifically for Black populations. Our findings suggest that intended objectivity in how voluntary buyout dollars are distributed has led to unintentional inequities at multiple scales that may become more pronounced without changes to existing policy and highlight the growing need for social equity consideration in strategic retreat planning.

在过去的几十年中，自愿性购房计划作为一种减轻自然灾害的工具越来越受到人们的欢迎。但是，对减灾的货币价值的高度重视使买断收益分配不均的可能性成为可能，在气候变化造成的灾害损失增加的情况下，买断收益可能加剧社会正义问题。使用由美国联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）资助的买断资产的完整数据集，我们描述了自1980年代以来参与FEMA买断计划的社区和县的人口构成，并评估了接受买断的机会和数量上的不同劣势。收购参与者从与社会脆弱性相关的特征中获得的收益。我们发现，拥有更多资源的城市县更有可能获得资金来执行买断计划，而在这些县中，少数民族房主获得联邦援助资金的可能性也较小。此外，我们发现了专门针对黑人人口的差异增加的趋势。我们的研究结果表明，自愿性买单分配方式的预期客观性已导致多种规模的无意间的不平等，在不改变现有政策的情况下，这种不平等现象会更加明显，并强调了战略性撤退计划中对社会公平考虑的日益增长的需求。我们发现了专门针对黑人人口的差距日益扩大的趋势。我们的研究结果表明，自愿性买单分配方式的预期客观性已导致多种规模的无意间的不平等，在不改变现有政策的情况下，这种不平等现象会更加明显，并强调了战略性撤退计划中对社会公平考虑的日益增长的需求。我们发现了专门针对黑人人口的差距日益扩大的趋势。我们的研究结果表明，自愿性买单分配方式的预期客观性已导致多种规模的无意间的不平等，在不改变现有政策的情况下，这种不平等现象会更加明显，并强调了战略性撤退计划中对社会公平考虑的日益增长的需求。