Developing a Framework to Optimize Floodnet Sensor Deployments around NYC for Equitable and Impact-Based Hyper-Local Street-Level Flood Monitoring and Data Collection

69A3551747119This report culminates a year-long study on flood-monitoring sensor deployment in urban areas, with a specific application to the deployment of FloodNet sensors in New York City. The study presents a comprehensive method developed over the course of the year, which is based on two key components: stakeholder needs and equity considerations. Initially, the report describes the stakeholder elicitation process in which we engaged experts and urban stakeholders to identify metrics that would guide sensor deployment. These metrics were then subjected to the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to weight their relative importance. Different flooding scenarios were considered using available flood maps, with a particular focus on pluvial flooding. In the data analysis and metrics quantification stage, each identified metric was associated with a quantifiable proxy using publicly available data. Some metrics, however, were excluded due to lack of available data at the required geographic granularity. The metrics for stakeholders\u2019 needs and equity were then normalized and weighted using AHP-derived factors, aggregated within each set, and combined to derive a final prioritization metric for each Census Tract. This enabled the ranking of NYC Census Tracts for sensor deployment. Radar charts were used to illustrate the influence of each metric on the final combined metric, revealing that stakeholder metrics, specifically the presence of electricity substations, were most influential in the prioritization process. The report concludes by discussing the potential for further refinement of the method, such as adding or removing metrics, using different flood maps, and assigning different weights to stakeholder and equity metrics