Relationship between Access to Critical Facilities During Normal Times and Disrupted Access During Extreme Weather Events, and Underlying Disparities

Abstract

This paper presents empirical investigation for understanding the association between households’ normal access to critical facilities and disrupted access as a result of an extreme weather events. While critical facility access in both normal and disrupted states has been well studied, a gap exists in the knowledge of the relationship between access to critical facilities during normal times versus access during a disaster, as well as the underlying disparities in vulnerable populations. This research analyzed the responses of a Texas statewide household survey (N=810) to reveal novel evidence of the association between normal and disrupted access to critical facilities. After conducting a correlation analysis of access-related factors—trip duration and alternative trip duration in normal and disrupted contexts, and even loss of access to critical facilities—we evaluated the association of access-related factors and underlying disparities (by incorporating income, ethnicity, and urban or suburban status). The results indicate that (1) duration of travel time for normal access to facilities is associated with disrupted access to critical facilities during an extreme weather event; (2) among vulnerable populations, disparities in access exist during both during normal times and storm-related events; and (3) urban and suburban households are more susceptible than rural households to disrupted access. The findings offer insights to city planners and emergency response managers to appraise access to critical facilities and ensure appropriate strategies, such as equitable facility distribution through urban development strategies to enhance access during normal times, which has the potential to improve access levels during a disaster.

Keywords: equitable access, critical facilities, resilience, disasters