Abstract
Abstract. This paper presents the approach and outcomes of an exploratory cost-benefit analysis of subsidence mitigation strategies in the inner city of Gouda, the Netherlands. Results indicate that especially the strategy focusing on reducing damage, rather than a strategy aiming to halt subsidence altogether, might have a positive economic rationale.
Highlights
In the Netherlands, subsidence of clay and peat soils is mainly caused by artificial lowering of phreatic groundwater levels, and soft-soil loading by buildings and infrastructure
Economic impact assessments of subsidence can contribute to defining the optimal approach to dealing with subsidence, because (i) estimates of the magnitude of the socio-economic impact substantiate the need for action and help to identify and activate key stakeholders, and (ii) they provide the economic rationale of different strategies, e.g. in a cost-benefit analysis
We demonstrate how the economic rationale for interventions in a subsidence context was determined in the case of Gouda, the Netherlands
Summary
In the Netherlands, subsidence of clay and peat soils is mainly caused by artificial lowering of phreatic groundwater levels, and soft-soil loading by buildings and infrastructure. Economic impact assessments of (solutions for) subsidence can contribute to defining the optimal approach to dealing with subsidence, because (i) estimates of the magnitude of the socio-economic impact substantiate the need for action and help to identify and activate key stakeholders, and (ii) they provide the economic rationale of different strategies, e.g. in a cost-benefit analysis. Despite these potentially useful applications of economic impact assessment in the context of subsidence, research on economic assessment in a subsidence context is still limited (Kok and Costa, 2020), as most subsidence-related research focuses on measuring, modelling and monitoring the subsidence process itself. Economic estimates in the analysis are specific to the context of a subsiding historic urban zone with a mix of shallow and piled foundations, the methodological framework applied is applicable to other subsidence contexts as well
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