From Red Tape to Red Infrastructure — Insights from Urban Flood Risk Management Practitioners in Four US Cities

Floods in the U.S. are becoming more frequent and severe, but current flood management strategies often fail to effectively prepare and protect communities. Statistical and geospatial analysis methods can reveal many kinds of vulnerabilities, but understanding the limitations of flood risk management techniques and learning how responsible parties are working to improve them represents a knowledge gap. Filling that gap would be useful for researchers, practitioners, and the public. To do so, we performed semi-structured interviews with 11 key flood risk practitioners in four major metropolitan areas. We coded the interviews for emergent themes and patterns in practitioners' responses using an inductive process. While perceptions of flood risk and potential solutions varied among cities, many respondents mentioned the importance of obtaining more funding, improving communication among stakeholders and the public, and developing actionable, evidence-based and sustainable solutions. Practitioners also emphasized the value of red infrastructure, a form of flood risk management infrastructure that includes social-economic-governance strategies (e.g., communication, education, outreach, capacity building, buyouts, and integrative management and planning), alongside physical infrastructure (i.e., gray and green infrastructure) strategies. Our study underscores the necessity of taking a comprehensive approach to flood risk management, formulating sound policies that account for climate change, and finding an optimal blend of social, ecological, and technological infrastructure strategies that addresses the needs of all populations.