Regional trends in barriers, stakeholders, and exposure : process improvements for infrastructure adaptation as a response to chronic disasters in rural Alaska ...

The Arctic is warming quickly, changing the operating environment for which the region’s built environment was originally designed. As a result, critical infrastructure is oftentimes failing or nearing failure, threatening the public health and safety of nearby communities that are often largely pop...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Brown, Meredith Jeanette
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: The University of Texas at Austin 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/52603
https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/126064
Description
Summary:The Arctic is warming quickly, changing the operating environment for which the region’s built environment was originally designed. As a result, critical infrastructure is oftentimes failing or nearing failure, threatening the public health and safety of nearby communities that are often largely populated by Alaska Natives. While urgent adaptation of infrastructure is necessary for such communities, critical adaptation processes for chronic disasters (e.g., coastal erosion, permafrost subsidence, etc.) – in the US – are under-resourced, inefficient, and imprecise. As a result, engineering projects can be stalled for decades and often do not provide meaningful and sustainable solutions for these vulnerable communities. It is essential that infrastructure adaptation becomes more efficient and effective, but very few studies pursue a regional understanding of infrastructure adaptation as a response to chronic disasters, and thus, overlook tangible, systematic improvements. In order to address this gap, this ...