Enhancing urban resilience to extreme weather: the roles of human transition paths among multiple transportation modes

Abstract

Understanding changes in mobility patterns during extreme weather is crucial for urban resilience. Existing studies often overlook the transitions between different transportation modes. This study develops a framework that measures the spatiotemporal anomalies of mobilities and builds transition paths across multiple modes to reveal how people adapt to extreme weather. Analyzing four extreme rainfall events in New York City, we find that Citibike riders are most sensitive to rainfall. In the absence of subway disruptions, they tend to switch to the subway. When the subway system is paralyzed, indicating flooding of the system by heavy rainfall, riders shift to For-Hire Vehicles, followed by taxis. Both demonstrate the value of flexible service in urban resilience. The paralysis-prone subway and the uneven distribution of flexible service indicate that the current transit infrastructure lacks coordination and is unprepared for climate change. Recommendations for enhancing urban resilience include upgrading and maintaining the subway system; enhancing inter-transportation-modal coordination; introducing amphibious transportation modes; improving pre-disaster awareness of inland populations; encouraging safety shared ride; and connecting affordable transition paths for underprivileged groups.