Stephanie Chang

As disasters such as floods increase in severity and frequency across Canada, more waste will be generated, posing a challenge for waste management and disaster management practitioners. The 2021 atmospheric river event in British Columbia (BC) was a large-scale event that demonstrated how communities can still face long-term challenges associated with debris removal. This thesis addresses three main research questions: (1) What are the existing waste removal processes for flooded communities in BC? (2) What gaps or limitations exist in these processes? For example, within the context of these processes, what socio-economic or other factors might impede a household’s ability to effectively remove their flood waste? and (3) How can the post-flood waste removal process and disaster debris management be improved? These questions are examined through a case study of the City of Merritt, BC, which was severely impacted by the 2021 atmospheric river event. The entire city was evacuated due to the failure of its wastewater treatment plant and the inundation of homes. This thesis draws on 14 interviews with city staff, government officials, contractors, and non-profit organizations to characterize the debris removal process and examine its challenges. Some gaps in this process include support for vulnerable groups such as seniors and renters in the community. Lastly, recommendations and lessons learned from the City of Merritt are explored to support better preparation for future disasters. The City piloted a curbside debris collection program, which was one of the successes that other communities can learn from to help their debris removal and recovery efforts.

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The limitations of dominant approaches to managing coastal flood risk that rely on technical, hard, grey infrastructures have become more evident, and nature-based flood defences (NBFD) have been gaining attention in coastal climate change adaptation. This study explores the barriers and possibilities of transitioning toward NBFD, focusing on how path dependency can be overcome to implement NBFD in coastal areas. Through a systematic literature review, a conceptual framework is developed to identify lock-ins as well as enabling factors that can overcome path dependency and facilitate implementing NBFD. The framework is then applied to three NBFD case studies that are widely considered to be success stories from the Global North and South: (i) The Wide Green Dike (WGD), (ii) the Living Breakwaters, and (iii) Mangrove Plantation Projects (MPP). Through document review and 16 expert interviews, the research identified case- and context-specific lock-ins and enablers in the implementation of each case study. The study shows that the key factors causing lock-ins differ more amongst case studies than factors breaking path dependency. Insufficient data and/or technology and gaps in coordination significantly influenced all three case studies, although this took different forms. Aversion to change was a significant influence in the WGD and LB case study, which impacted the trust and uptake of NBFD. The MPP has more lock-ins than the other two case studies, including knowledge gap, lack of financial resources, and overdependence on local knowledge. Regarding factors breaking path-dependency, collaboration, leadership, and available funding resources were important for all three case studies, and past flooding events triggered changes in the approach to FRM. Community engagement has also been identified as a critical factor and was especially important in the MPP case study. In sum, the study showed that the lock-ins and enablers differ not only between the Global South and North cases but also between the two Global North Cases, and they interact in both causing and breaking lock-ins. Lastly, the findings inform guiding principles and recommendations for policymakers, planners, and key decision-makers on successfully overcoming lock-ins to implement the appropriate NBFD in the future.

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Climate change mitigation/sustainability initiatives for the built environment have become well established over the past three decades. With increasing extreme weather events and climate impacts, building industry stakeholders have more recently been advancing adaptation/resilience policies and guidance. However, these initiatives have largely remained separate from mitigation/sustainability, with very limited investigation of their interrelationship. This lack of integration can result in unintended consequences such as increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, augmented risks, and negative health and well-being outcomes. Investigating interactions between adaptation and mitigation strategies provides an opportunity to benefit from synergies, minimize conflicts, and achieve more holistic project solutions. Many researchers have identified the need for integrated assessment methods, frameworks and user-friendly decision-support tools that capture both adaptation and mitigation. While integrated assessment methods have been created for the municipal scale, they are lacking at the scale of buildings and their immediate neighbourhoods. As a response to this gap, this thesis aims to integrate adaptation and mitigation paradigms through the development of an integrated evaluation framework for urban multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). The framework and associated tools were developed though an iterative process using multiple methods that included document analysis of relevant academic and industry literature, expert interviews in the U.S. and Canada, a series of stakeholder workshops, a survey to elicit feedback on draft framework documents, and case examples from the partner organization, BC Housing. The resulting Integrated Building Adaptation and Mitigation Assessment (IBAMA) framework provides a process-oriented collaborative tool for building owners and design professionals to integrate climate adaptation and mitigation considerations and identify synergies, trade-offs and conflicts between proposed solutions. IBAMA is conceived primarily for the project planning phase, with follow-through during design, construction and project occupancy. It is implemented by means of an introductory primer, a detailed guidelines document, and an associated spreadsheet tool. The framework considers the larger neighbourhood scale, incorporates both technical and socio-economic factors, and is customizable to a project’s unique circumstances.

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The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is at risk of coastal impacts resulting from the anticipated outcomes of climate change in the region. Sea level rise, along with more frequent and intense storms, will increase the instances and severity of coastal flooding events in the province, demonstrating the need for adaptation strategies in vulnerable coastal zones. The Municipal Climate Change Action Plans (MCCAPs), which were completed by municipalities in 2013 in response to a provincial mandate, have provided a foundation for adaptation planning in the province. Using the MCCAPs from 20 coastal communities as the basis for investigation, this study employs a mixed methods approach that includes content analysis, surveys, and expert interviews to evaluate the implementation of coastal adaptation actions that were identified as priorities in these plans. Two overarching research questions are asked: 1) what priorities for coastal adaptation were identified in the 2013 MCCAPs and which of these actions have been implemented since; and 2) What are the local factors that have influenced the success of implementation? Results demonstrate that the MCCAP mandate has been highly effective in stimulating coastal adaptation in the province, with nearly 75% of the 331 priority actions contained in these plans having been implemented to some degree. However, progress varies widely between communities and the data analysis suggests that both the characteristics of the communities and the characteristics of their planned actions are significant determinants of success. Previously developed theories on the influence of local policy factors in enabling successful adaptation are tested with mixed results. Some factors that are typically thought of as advantageous – dedicated funding, presence of a champion, and recent disasters – are shown to have no statistical influence on the success of plan implementation, whereas political continuity and public participation throughout the planning process have significant positive effects. Interviews with municipal representatives complement the data analysis with local context and perspective and offer insights for future adaptation planning in Nova Scotia and beyond.

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Coastal communities are at an increasingly elevated risk of coastal flooding from storm waves, storm surge, and sea level rise due to climate change. The risk of coastal flooding means that coastal communities are actively planning and preparing for future flood risk reduction. While some communities are using traditional dike and protect strategies, others are exploring alternative nature-based flood protection solutions that maximize benefits for communities and ecosystems. Tidal marsh ecosystems can act as a buffer to flooding by dissipating wave energy and reducing wave heights, even in storm conditions. Many studies have investigated the potential of foreshore marshes to attenuate wave energy and to reduce wave loads on protective structures like dikes. However, there have been no similar studies focused on Canada and the Fraser River delta, where low-lying coastal communities are exposed to flood hazard and are also bordered by expansive tidal marshes. Using a case study of Sturgeon Bank near Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, this thesis evaluates the wave attenuation capacity from vegetation in a varied brackish foreshore marsh, considering seasonal differences in vegetation conditions as well as changes in vegetation extent from the 1980s to present. Vegetation and wave height data were collected along transects at Sturgeon Bank in summer and winter seasons, and historical vegetation data were gathered from previous field surveys. These data were used in the SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) wave model to evaluate the wave energy dissipation by vegetation at Sturgeon Bank under a variety of conditions. Based on the modeled results, wave attenuation from vegetation makes up nearly one third of the total wave energy dissipated in winter, and two thirds of total wave energy dissipated in summer under normal wave conditions. Most of the wave energy (>80%) is dissipated in the first 100 metres of marsh vegetation. Even during storm conditions, current vegetation dissipates up to 20% of the total wave energy and acts as a buffer for flooding. This research provides evidence to inform future policy and planning for nature-based flood risk reduction, and adds support for the conservation of tidal marshes in the Fraser River delta.

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The flood threat has existed as long as humans have inhabited the Fraser Basin but the context is changing. Climate change is expected to impact streamflow and flood patterns in yet unpredictable ways, at the same time that population, infrastructure and economic activity continue to increase in floodplain areas in the Basin. This challenge is emerging just as significant shifts in relationships between First Nations and non-First Nations institutions in Canada are taking place. All levels of government jointly affect the adaptive capacity of the linked social-ecological system they inhabit together. In the face of such complexity and uncertainty, a system needs to have the capacity to anticipate, learn, adapt and transform, and not just react, in order to persist. The central research question explored in this study is: How does institutional capacity enhance and/or hinder the current, and ongoing, adaptability of the flood management regime? Drawing on the fields of social-ecological systems, disaster management, and organizational resilience, an adaptability lens is combined with Healey et al.'s Institutional Capacity framework (1999, 2003) to explore these questions focusing on the case of a flood management regime involving the City of Chilliwack and Stó:lō Nation communities in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia.The study is based on documentation, direct observation and twelve expert interviews conducted with representatives of key organizations. Sources of Institutional Capacity that enhance adaptability include the presence of divergence and diversity across the system, along with “learning systems” and collective “sensemaking” repertoires (i.e. the ability to interpret and act in novel situations). Barriers to enhancing adaptability were also identified. For example, an overriding belief in structurally-driven flood management is at odds with the nature of the flood hazard and potential changes. As well, the relative proficiency of the emergency management system may undermine longer-term cycles essential for resilience.Overall, the analysis suggests that the flood management regime was adaptable in the short-term. In the mid- to long-term there are important components of institutional capacity that enhance the potential for adaptability, but a number of weak or missing elements threaten to undermine system adaptability if left unaddressed.

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This study examines the linkages between environmental and economic post-disaster recovery for coastal communities using the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a case study. The disaster literature often neglects to discuss the recovery of the natural environment in urban areas and how this influences the economic recovery of a community. This is caused in part by the difficulty of measuring recovery. However, it is a very important part of the post-disaster recovery and this study explores such ‘hidden losses’ as a declined contribution of the local fishery industry to the community. It is also important to recognize that the perception of how the natural environment relates to human societies is influenced by a society’s paradigm. This study first examines the influence of two contrasting paradigms on the assessment of the recovery of natural system: the anthropocentric and ecocentric paradigms. This provides insights into the influence of the contemporary anthropocentric paradigm and the contrast with an ecocentric approach. Secondly, this thesis research studies the linkages between environmental and economic recovery for coastal tourism and fishery industries, focusing on a case study of the Biloxi area of Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The empirical insights gained from the case study are used to refine a framework for linking post-disaster environmental and economic recovery. Fieldwork was conducted in October 2010 and included 13 expert judgment interviews with local stakeholders and authorities. Quantitative analysis was also conducted using statistical time series data on economic and environmental variables. Results indicate that the economic recovery of the environment-dependent fisheries sector lagged behind the recovery of the general economy. This is caused by several factors such as decreased demand for fisheries products due to perception of environmental damage. Findings are summarized in a diagram of linkages between environmental and economic recovery.

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A convergence of several factors has made Metro Vancouver’s transportation system vulnerable to earthquakes. Unfortunately, traditional post-disaster evaluations are often inadequate as they undervalue regional dimensions of transportation quality. After a fairly basic examination of ten of Metro Vancouver’s critical pieces of bridge infrastructure, results suggest that the transportation system will perform reasonably well when exposed to earthquakes with magnitudes between 4 and 8. However, certain damage outcomes leave many areas with limited accessibility. In particular, the simple sampling analysis suggests that the four most frequent damage outcomes - the loss of the Lion’s Gate, Oak Street, Arthur Laing, and Alex Fraser Bridges, respectively - present some interesting results. The Oak Street and Arthur Laing Bridge damage outcomes appear to cause minimal travel disruption likely due to relatively high levels of network redundancy. Conversely, the loss of the Lion’s Gate Bridge produces relatively much harsher diminished transportation performance. Furthermore, after observing transportation performance over time between 2004 and 2021, it would appear the region is at risk of suffering from diminished transportation quality as a consequence of land-use changes. These could have significant social and economical consequences. Overall, perhaps the most valuable output of this research is the formulation of a methodological framework to study post-earthquake transportation performance in Metro Vancouver. Another novelty of this research is the comparative study of earthquake risks in past and future regional environments. The paper also proposes some new methods for reducing post-earthquake transportation disruption. In particular this research suggests the use of targeted transportation demand management (TDM) policies to reduce strain on transportation networks prior to and following an earthquake. These are policies that could be included in municipal or regional disaster management and transportation planning frameworks.

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