Because the city of Boston rests along the Atlantic coast and is highly vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes, local emergency planners have considered utilizing phased evacuation and contraflow strategies as a means to more effectively evacuate. This research attempted to determine whether phased evacuation or contraflow are suitable evacuation strategies that can be incorporated into Boston's evacuation plan in order to increase the evacuation rate and reduce motor vehicle congestion.
A computer simulation evaluating the use and non-use of phased evacuation and contraflow was performed. The simulated evacuation included 50% of the population from South Boston and the Columbia Point peninsula of Dorchester and a 20% shadow evacuation from downtown Boston. This research concludes that when an evacuation anticipates moving 60,000 vehicles or less from coastal areas, contraflow may not be necessary, while phased evacuation will require thorough planning prior to implementation to avoid extending an evacuation beyond the scheduled time frame.
","abstract_html":"<p>Because the city of Boston rests along the Atlantic coast and is highly vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes, local emergency planners have considered utilizing phased evacuation and contraflow strategies as a means to more effectively evacuate. This research attempted to determine whether phased evacuation or contraflow are suitable evacuation strategies that can be incorporated into Boston's evacuation plan in order to increase the evacuation rate and reduce motor vehicle congestion. </p> <p>A computer simulation evaluating the use and non-use of phased evacuation and contraflow was performed. The simulated evacuation included 50% of the population from South Boston and the Columbia Point peninsula of Dorchester and a 20% shadow evacuation from downtown Boston. This research concludes that when an evacuation anticipates moving 60,000 vehicles or less from coastal areas, contraflow may not be necessary, while phased evacuation will require thorough planning prior to implementation to avoid extending an evacuation beyond the scheduled time frame. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Connor, Courtney"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Safety, Security, and Emergency Management","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z","subjects":["Boston","Coastal","Evacuation","Hurricane","Planning","Transportation","Emergency and Disaster Management"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2014 Courtney Connor"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/250","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Connor, Courtney"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Safety, Security, and Emergency Management"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Boston","Coastal","Evacuation","Hurricane","Planning","Transportation","Emergency and Disaster Management"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2014 Courtney Connor"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/250"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Because the city of Boston rests along the Atlantic coast and is highly vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes, local emergency planners have considered utilizing phased evacuation and contraflow strategies as a means to more effectively evacuate. This research attempted to determine whether phased evacuation or contraflow are suitable evacuation strategies that can be incorporated into Boston's evacuation plan in order to increase the evacuation rate and reduce motor vehicle congestion.
A computer simulation evaluating the use and non-use of phased evacuation and contraflow was performed. The simulated evacuation included 50% of the population from South Boston and the Columbia Point peninsula of Dorchester and a 20% shadow evacuation from downtown Boston. This research concludes that when an evacuation anticipates moving 60,000 vehicles or less from coastal areas, contraflow may not be necessary, while phased evacuation will require thorough planning prior to implementation to avoid extending an evacuation beyond the scheduled time frame.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluating the Suitability of Phased Evacuation and Contraflow for the Evacuation of Boston's Coastal Population"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Connor, Courtney"],"dc:description.abstract":["Because the city of Boston rests along the Atlantic coast and is highly vulnerable to flooding from hurricanes, local emergency planners have considered utilizing phased evacuation and contraflow strategies as a means to more effectively evacuate. This research attempted to determine whether phased evacuation or contraflow are suitable evacuation strategies that can be incorporated into Boston's evacuation plan in order to increase the evacuation rate and reduce motor vehicle congestion.
A computer simulation evaluating the use and non-use of phased evacuation and contraflow was performed. The simulated evacuation included 50% of the population from South Boston and the Columbia Point peninsula of Dorchester and a 20% shadow evacuation from downtown Boston. This research concludes that when an evacuation anticipates moving 60,000 vehicles or less from coastal areas, contraflow may not be necessary, while phased evacuation will require thorough planning prior to implementation to avoid extending an evacuation beyond the scheduled time frame.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/250"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2014 Courtney Connor"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Boston","Coastal","Evacuation","Hurricane","Planning","Transportation","Emergency and Disaster Management"],"dc:title":["Evaluating the Suitability of Phased Evacuation and Contraflow for the Evacuation of Boston's Coastal Population"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Safety, Security, and Emergency Management"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z"}