A Scoping Literature Review on Indicators and Metrics for Assessing Racial Equity in Disaster Preparation, Response, and Recovery

I n the context of extreme events, racial equity would mean that race predicts the distribution of aid for disaster preparation, response, or recovery (PRR) to the extent that race is related to the need for aid (Berke et al., 2019; Lawrence et al., 2009; Martín and Lewis, 2019; Muñoz and Tate, 2016). Equity is a complex construct, encompassing the interrelated dimensions of how benefits and costs are distributed, which stakeholders are recognized and included, and preexisting conditions that influence access to decision-making procedures and resources. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) made a commitment to reduce racial inequities through their Whole Community approach—one that aims to reduce the negative consequences of disasters based on race, color, or national origin. However, frameworks, indicators, and metrics for tracking progress toward racial equity goals have not been identified consistently by DHS or FEMA. This exploratory study addresses the following three main questions: