Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: The Netherlands and the U.S. Upper Texas Coast represents the culmination of a 5-year international research and education partnership funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and more than 10 years of collaboration between Dutch and U.S. flood experts on the basic issue of how to protect society from growing flood risks. Multiple case studies integrating the fields of engineering, hydrology, landscape architecture, economics, and planning address the underlying characteristics of physical flood risks and their prediction; human communities and the associated built environment; physical, social, and built-environment variables; and mitigation techniques.
In recognition of the lack of systematic research and the growing societal need to better understand flood impacts, this edited book provides an in-depth, comparative evaluation of flood problems and solutions in two key places: the Netherlands and the U.S. Upper Texas Coast. Both regions are extremely flood-prone and have experienced continual adverse impacts throughout their histories. For researchers in flood management, geographers, hydrologists, environmental studies, and social science as well as policymakers and decision-makers in flood management authorities and related industries, this book provides an essential resource.
Author Biography:
Dr. Brody is a Director, Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas, and Professor, Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, Galveston, Texas, USA. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University. He was also the Lead Technical Expert for the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey. Dr. Brody’s research focuses on coastal environmental planning, spatial analysis, flood mitigation, climate change policy, and natural hazards mitigation. He has published numerous scientific articles on flood risk and mitigation, and the book, Rising Waters: The causes and consequences of flooding in the United States. He is the PI of the NSF PIRE Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Program. Associate Research Scientist, Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas, and Lecturer, Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, Galveston, Texas, USA. She is the Education Program Director of the NSF PIRE Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Program. She holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Sciences from Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on urban flooding, flood risk reduction and mitigation strategies, urban resiliency, and transformative and authentic learning in education. She teaches graduate courses in sustainable coastal management and resiliency, international flood risk mitigation strategies, environmental planning and urban resiliency. Dr. Kothuis is a Research Associate, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Hydraulic Structures and Flood Risk, TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands and Chief Representative, Netherlands Business Support Office, Houston, Texas, USA. Her research focuses on multi-functional flood defenses, transdisciplinary knowledge integration, and stakeholder inclusive design of structures and strategies for flood resilience. She manages multidisciplinary research projects on delta design and is coordinator for the Houston Galveston Bay case for TU Delft. She is editor of the publications ‘Delft Delta Design – Houston Galveston Bay Region, Texas, USA’; ‘Sustainable and Integrated Design of Multifunctional Flood Defenses’; and ‘Delta Interventions’.
