Buy-In for Buyouts: The Case for Managed Retreat from Flood Zones (Policy Focus Reports)

This report offers a set of policy recommendations to increase participation in buyout programs and to make them more effective tools for building resilience in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth study of managed retreat in the New York metropolitan region following Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, it provides an overview of flooding risk, a detailed summation of buyout programs in and outside the region, quantitative analyses that organize the region into place types, and five case studies. The research draws from original analysis; interviews with buyout program staff, planners, conservation experts, and other stakeholders; and a workshop hosted by the Lincoln Institute and Regional Plan Association in 2014. This report offers policy recommendations to increase participation in buyout programs and to make them more effective tools for building resilience in coastal communities. Based on a study of managed retreat following Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, the report provides an overview of flooding risk, a detailed summation of existing buyout programs, case studies, and interviews.