Mathematical Models for Reconstruction Planning in Urban Areas

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, urban planners need to decide how neighborhoods should be restored under limited resources. An ill-planned reconstruction strategy and implementation process may result in socially inefficient land uses and subject neighborhoods to excessive future risk of disaster damage. In this study, we develop a prescriptive mathematical model for the design of redevelopment strategies that minimize future risk of flood and maximize net social benefit under spatial and equity constraints. This model, based on political districting models, is implemented using mathematical programming and a local search heuristic. Computational results are encouraging both for model outputs and solution efficiency. We generate an approximation to a Pareto frontier that provides decisionmakers with considerable flexibility regarding redevelopment strategies.