Why Sustainability and Resiliency Make Fiscal Sense: HDR’s Latest Experts Talk with Pamela Yonkin

With stiff competition for every dollar, transportation agencies need facts and data to make the best decisions for their communities. Sustainable, resilient projects last longer, can save money in the long term and can withstand unique shocks and hazards. Resiliency and sustainability planning makes good financial sense — just ask an economist.

In HDR’s latest Experts Talk, economist Pamela Yonkin explains the difference between resiliency and sustainability, why it makes sense to invest limited dollars in planning for disasters, and how the pandemic underscores the importance of resiliency and sustainability.

“Both in our personal and professional lives, we continually weigh the benefits and costs associated with different decisions,” Yonkin said. “Incorporating economics into decisions related to sustainability and resiliency is a very natural extension of this. It can lead to a pretty persuasive argument for building a ‘greener’ building or one that can stand up to natural disasters.”

Yonkin is HDR’s director of transportation resiliency and sustainability, and she is an expert in helping clients use data to make decisions related to resiliency and sustainability. Yonkin, ENV SP, has decades of experience performing economic analyses of transportation projects and many of her projects have involved the issues of sustainability and resiliency.

Yonkin is also moderating a panel through the American Public Transportation Association’s Sustainability and Multimodal Planning Workshop. Attendees can catch “Equity in Action: Transforming the Future” at 1:25 EST on July 30.

About HDR 

For over a century, HDR has partnered with clients to shape communities and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our expertise spans more than 10,000 employees in more than 200 locations around the world — and counting. Our engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services bring an impressive breadth of knowledge to every project. Our optimistic approach to finding innovative solutions defined our past and drives our future. For more information, please visit www.hdrinc.com.