Moving from Engineering to Societal Metrics: Modeling the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure Disruption Using a Capability Approach

Transportation infrastructure is critical for societal functioning and human well-being. This reliance on transport infrastructure is evident during hazard scenarios (where damage to transportation infrastructure can cut off communities from critical services) and non-hazard scenarios (where design and maintenance strategies can lead to inefficient or inequitable transport experiences). Traditional transportation metrics are described from an infrastructure perspective. These metrics typically focus on damage and downtime but do not account for impacts on human well-being. This lack of such metrics makes it difficult to integrate societal concerns into typical engineering analyses. The Capability Approach (CA) offers a conception of human well-being that can be used to formulate societal metrics. However, the theoretical nature of CA has made it difficult for engineering decision-makers to apply it to infrastructure planning. This poster showcases how CA methods can support transport infrastructure decision-making. Two scenarios are evaluated: a hazard scenario and a non-hazard scenario. In both cases, CA methods are used to create measurable societal metrics. The metrics displayed are versatile, ranging from system performance metrics to individual infrastructure component-level metrics.