Selecting Appropriate Mitigation Methods for Soil Slope Failures: A Safety and Equity-Centric Approach

"Soil slope failures pose significant risks to both human lives and infrastructure, necessitating effective mitigation strategies. This research proposal aims to investigate the selection of appropriate mitigation methods for soil slope failures, with a dual focus on safety and equity considerations. The proposed study will employ a multidisciplinary approach, integrating geological, climatic, geotechnical engineering, and socio-economic perspectives. It will begin with comprehensive review of existing mitigation methods, including slope flattening, stabilization, lightweight fill, and drainage. Subsequently, a systematic evaluation framework will be developed to assess the efficacy of these methods in terms of safety enhancement and equitable distribution of benefits. Safety considerations will encompass factors such as slope stability and resilience to extreme weather events. Equity considerations will involve analyzing the distribution of risks and benefits among different socio-economic groups, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by soil slope failures. Taking advantage of the collected field slope data for the KDOT geotechnical asset management system, computational modeling techniques will be employed to quantify the performance of various mitigation strategies under different scenarios. Additionally, stakeholder consultations will be conducted to incorporate local knowledge and community perspectives into the decision-making process. The anticipated outcomes of this research include a set of guidelines for selecting optimal mitigation methods tailored to specific soil slope failure scenarios, taking into account both safety and equity. By integrating technical expertise with social equity principles, this study seeks to contribute to the development of more resilient and equitable disaster risk reduction strategies for soil slopes. This research will contribute to the knowledge and procedure for selecting optimal mitigation methods of soil slopes to address their safety and community equity. "

Soil slope failures pose significant risks to both human lives and infrastructure, necessitating effective mitigation strategies. This research proposal aims to investigate the selection of appropriate mitigation methods for soil slope failures, with a dual focus on safety and equity considerations. The proposed study will employ a multidisciplinary approach, integrating geological, climatic, geotechnical engineering, and socio-economic perspectives. It will begin with comprehensive review of existing mitigation methods, including slope flattening, stabilization, lightweight fill, and drainage. A systematic evaluation framework will be developed to assess the efficacy of these methods in terms of safety enhancement and equitable distribution of benefits. Safety considerations will encompass factors such as slope stability and resilience to extreme weather events. Equity considerations will involve analyzing the distribution of risks and benefits among different socio-economic groups, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable communities disproportionately affected by soil slope failures. Computational modeling techniques will be employed to quantify the performance of various mitigation strategies under different scenarios. Additionally, stakeholder consultations will be conducted to incorporate local knowledge and community perspectives into the decision-making process.

"The proposed research will address the following US DOT strategic goals: a) Safety (primary strategic goal) b) Economic Strength and Global Competitiveness c) Equity d) Climate and Sustainability"

This proposed research is expected to have the following broader impacts: (1) a safety approach to selecting appropriate mitigation methods for soil slope failures will enhance the safety of soil slopes, (2) an equity-centric approach to selecting appropriate mitigation methods for soil slope failures will have equitable distribution of benefits and risks associated with mitigation efforts across communities, and (3) this approach will generate an economy solution for local communities.