Urban Flooding in Chicago: Examining the 'Deep Tunnel' Project
Urban flooding in Chicago and suburban Cook County, Illinois, continues to pose significant challenges, affecting approximately 172,000 buildings and causing billions of dollars in damages each decade. The issue stems from an outdated mixed sewage-stormwater drainage system. To address this, the city is constructing the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), also known as the 'Deep Tunnel' project. This large-scale flood mitigation effort aims to reduce flooding and its associated impacts. However, questions remain about the project's effectiveness and equity, particularly in communities of color, which have historically borne a disproportionate burden of urban flooding. A recent study used a population-weighted urban flood susceptibility model to assess residents' perceptions of flood risks and the potential benefits of TARP.