Kuo, Susan S. --- "The uneasy case for disaster buyouts" [2018] ELECD 500; in Lyster, Rosemary; Verchick, R.M. Robert (eds), "Research Handbook on Climate Disaster Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 235

Book Title: Research Handbook on Climate Disaster Law

Editor(s): Lyster, Rosemary; Verchick, R.M. Robert

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781786430021

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: The uneasy case for disaster buyouts

Author(s): Kuo, Susan S.

Number of pages: 15

Abstract/Description:

For public officials, buyouts are an appealing mechanism for removing flood-prone properties from vulnerable coastal areas. Importantly, buyouts differ from takings in that participation is ostensibly voluntary. Thus, buyouts seem to offer results without violating individual autonomy. In reality, however, buyout offers can be highly coercive. For example, if the state seeks to acquire multiple properties within a neighborhood, an individual’s isolated property could become worthless. Because property values in a community are interconnected, buyout offers create a problem of collective action for recipients. This chapter argues that disaster buyouts should be regulated in ways that recognize the collective context.