The study explains the factors leading local economic elites (LEEs) to consider vulnerability to natural hazards (VNH) a priority public problem. An Optimal Scaling Regression model was estimated based on information from 57 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities. The estimation included variables related to risk exposure, social conditions, and disaster management instruments. The central factors that explain why LEEs consider VNH a priority problem are the level of real exposure to natural risks and a high proportion of the local population living in poverty. LEEs seem to assume that the social deprivations that accentuate environmental vulnerability should be treated independently of the problem of equity; LEEs seem to relativize the VNH problem as the size of the city increases by assuming that VNH does not affect the whole city; government instruments for the management of natural hazards do not exert any influence on the perception of LEEs on environmental vulnerability. The findings help us to understand the low collective effectiveness of emergency management instruments in the LAC region.
{"title":"Environmental vulnerability as a public priority: The view of local economic elites","authors":"Manlio F. Castillo","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12298","url":null,"abstract":"The study explains the factors leading local economic elites (LEEs) to consider vulnerability to natural hazards (VNH) a priority public problem. An Optimal Scaling Regression model was estimated based on information from 57 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities. The estimation included variables related to risk exposure, social conditions, and disaster management instruments. The central factors that explain why LEEs consider VNH a priority problem are the level of real exposure to natural risks and a high proportion of the local population living in poverty. LEEs seem to assume that the social deprivations that accentuate environmental vulnerability should be treated independently of the problem of equity; LEEs seem to relativize the VNH problem as the size of the city increases by assuming that VNH does not affect the whole city; government instruments for the management of natural hazards do not exert any influence on the perception of LEEs on environmental vulnerability. The findings help us to understand the low collective effectiveness of emergency management instruments in the LAC region.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140149673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The City of Jackson, Mississippi, has faced numerous problems related to its water supply in the last three decades. The most recent water crisis stemmed from the flooding of two water treatment plants, resulting in contamination and the shutting down of the water supply. The study examines antecedents to the Jackson Water Crisis and how it was addressed. The article investigates the following questions: (1) What is the effect of jurisdictional vulnerability on the resiliency of the Jackson Water Crisis, and (2) What role does the subsidiarity principle play in the resiliency of the Jackson Water Crisis? The study draws from social vulnerability theory to investigate Jackson's changing racial demographics starting in 1970 to understand the crisis. It then draws from the subsidiarity principle that underpins federal assistance to subnational governments to explain how multilevel governments cooperate to address social inequity and create a more resilient community.
{"title":"Resiliency in the Jackson Water Crisis: Investigating the roles of social vulnerability and U.S. Federal Subsidiarity Assistance","authors":"Latara M. Arterberry, Julius A. Nukpezah","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12295","url":null,"abstract":"The City of Jackson, Mississippi, has faced numerous problems related to its water supply in the last three decades. The most recent water crisis stemmed from the flooding of two water treatment plants, resulting in contamination and the shutting down of the water supply. The study examines antecedents to the Jackson Water Crisis and how it was addressed. The article investigates the following questions: (1) What is the effect of jurisdictional vulnerability on the resiliency of the Jackson Water Crisis, and (2) What role does the subsidiarity principle play in the resiliency of the Jackson Water Crisis? The study draws from social vulnerability theory to investigate Jackson's changing racial demographics starting in 1970 to understand the crisis. It then draws from the subsidiarity principle that underpins federal assistance to subnational governments to explain how multilevel governments cooperate to address social inequity and create a more resilient community.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140149617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article considers the opinions of local emergency management professionals with regard to the response of the US federal government to the COVID‐19 pandemic. The responses to a survey from May/June 2020 demonstrate that these feelings, ranging from highly successful to extremely poor, are reflective of the culture at large in the nation. The study will examine whether the feelings expressed by local officials are reflective of prevailing political leanings of their constituency, measured as the presidential voting habits from 2000 to 2020 in the respondent's jurisdiction. This will extend Hildebrand's (2020) testing which linked the emergency management field to the theory of “representative bureaucracy.” This theory surmises that government actors will be reflective of their body politic in their behavior and attitudes toward federal initiatives. The findings suggest that those who represent “Strong Republican” jurisdictions have greater odds in rating the federal response as being effective, and that those from “Strong Democrat” locations will have greater odds in rating the federal response as not effective at all. Statistical testing also suggests that as the population of the jurisdiction increases, the less likely the respondent was to consider the federal response to COVID‐19 effective.
{"title":"Representative bureaucracy and COVID‐19 among local emergency response professionals","authors":"Sean Hildebrand, Matthew Malone","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12293","url":null,"abstract":"This article considers the opinions of local emergency management professionals with regard to the response of the US federal government to the COVID‐19 pandemic. The responses to a survey from May/June 2020 demonstrate that these feelings, ranging from highly successful to extremely poor, are reflective of the culture at large in the nation. The study will examine whether the feelings expressed by local officials are reflective of prevailing political leanings of their constituency, measured as the presidential voting habits from 2000 to 2020 in the respondent's jurisdiction. This will extend Hildebrand's (2020) testing which linked the emergency management field to the theory of “representative bureaucracy.” This theory surmises that government actors will be reflective of their body politic in their behavior and attitudes toward federal initiatives. The findings suggest that those who represent “Strong Republican” jurisdictions have greater odds in rating the federal response as being effective, and that those from “Strong Democrat” locations will have greater odds in rating the federal response as not effective at all. Statistical testing also suggests that as the population of the jurisdiction increases, the less likely the respondent was to consider the federal response to COVID‐19 effective.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139946951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) have proliferated across the United States and abroad as a means of addressing the informational needs of emergency management agencies. These groups of trusted agents act as “force multipliers” by monitoring social media to extract actionable information, including on‐the‐ground impacts, public sentiment, misinformation and gossip, and calls for assistance. However, while these teams have been credited as a resource‐efficient means of improving situational awareness, issues pertaining to recruitment and retention, trust, and legitimacy continue to be a challenge. This research utilizes a case study approach to examine how academic institutions might leverage VOSTs as a tool for emergency management education and in doing so, address some of the challenges outlined above. In this paper, we present the participation of a university‐affiliated VOST in two state‐level activations: the 2022 Texas wildfires and the 2022 NYC marathon. These case studies are then contextualized with the results of semistructured interviews conducted with emergency managers in both states. The results demonstrate that VOSTs facilitated through and supported by academic institutions can address many of the challenges outlined above, while also providing valuable experience for students. The paper concludes with a discussion on lessons learned and opportunities for future research.
{"title":"Reconceptualizing Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) as an experiential learning tool for emergency management education","authors":"Amber Silver, Carey Morgan, Derek Morrison","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12292","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12292","url":null,"abstract":"Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) have proliferated across the United States and abroad as a means of addressing the informational needs of emergency management agencies. These groups of trusted agents act as “force multipliers” by monitoring social media to extract actionable information, including on‐the‐ground impacts, public sentiment, misinformation and gossip, and calls for assistance. However, while these teams have been credited as a resource‐efficient means of improving situational awareness, issues pertaining to recruitment and retention, trust, and legitimacy continue to be a challenge. This research utilizes a case study approach to examine how academic institutions might leverage VOSTs as a tool for emergency management education and in doing so, address some of the challenges outlined above. In this paper, we present the participation of a university‐affiliated VOST in two state‐level activations: the 2022 Texas wildfires and the 2022 NYC marathon. These case studies are then contextualized with the results of semistructured interviews conducted with emergency managers in both states. The results demonstrate that VOSTs facilitated through and supported by academic institutions can address many of the challenges outlined above, while also providing valuable experience for students. The paper concludes with a discussion on lessons learned and opportunities for future research.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139946950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines the determinants of local governments’ (LGs') adoption of crisis communication strategies during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Recognizing the pivotal role of crisis communication in public health emergencies and the central role of LGs as frontline responders, this research offers valuable insight into pandemic response and management. Employing ordinary least squares regression, we analyzed data from our Pandemic Management Survey, which was distributed across Pennsylvania and Florida municipal executives during the spring of 2021. According to our results, LG managers’ concerns related to school and business closures, as well as their efficacy beliefs, had a positive impact on the adoption of communication strategies. Our results also showed that funding from the CARES Act significantly improved LGs’ capacity to implement these strategies. Additionally, our study underscores the significance of community vulnerability factors in shaping crisis communication efforts.
{"title":"Crisis communication during COVID‐19: Insights from Pennsylvania and Florida local governments","authors":"Vaswati Chatterjee, Theodore Arapis","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12291","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the determinants of local governments’ (LGs') adoption of crisis communication strategies during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Recognizing the pivotal role of crisis communication in public health emergencies and the central role of LGs as frontline responders, this research offers valuable insight into pandemic response and management. Employing ordinary least squares regression, we analyzed data from our Pandemic Management Survey, which was distributed across Pennsylvania and Florida municipal executives during the spring of 2021. According to our results, LG managers’ concerns related to school and business closures, as well as their efficacy beliefs, had a positive impact on the adoption of communication strategies. Our results also showed that funding from the CARES Act significantly improved LGs’ capacity to implement these strategies. Additionally, our study underscores the significance of community vulnerability factors in shaping crisis communication efforts.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139946949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, reports have indicated vulnerable communities have suffered disproportionately from chronic illness, higher death rates, and unequal access to healthcare. This calls into question the equity of the nationwide vaccination program launched in the United States in 2021, a program with the potential to mitigate the disproportionate burden of the pandemic in these communities. This study investigates the extent to which local government agencies, elected officials, and community‐based organizations (CBOs) engaged in equitable information campaigns during the COVID‐19 pandemic to address health barriers common in vulnerable communities, including issues of access, fear, and language barriers. Using a sui generis data set of COVID‐19 testing and vaccine‐related Twitter posts from local government agencies, elected officials, and CBOs from Houston, Texas, we find that local government agencies were more likely than elected officials and CBOs to engage in equitable information campaigns and that among elected officials, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to engage in equitable messaging. These findings have important implications for communication strategies such as targeted and culturally sensitive messaging. These findings also signal an opportunity for elected officials and CBOs to engage further with their constituents and social networks to share public health information on their public communication platforms.
{"title":"Promoting public health equity through strategic information campaigns on social media during the COVID‐19 pandemic: An analysis of pandemic health information campaigns on Twitter in Houston, Texas","authors":"Courtney Page‐Tan, Sara Hope","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12294","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12294","url":null,"abstract":"Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, reports have indicated vulnerable communities have suffered disproportionately from chronic illness, higher death rates, and unequal access to healthcare. This calls into question the equity of the nationwide vaccination program launched in the United States in 2021, a program with the potential to mitigate the disproportionate burden of the pandemic in these communities. This study investigates the extent to which local government agencies, elected officials, and community‐based organizations (CBOs) engaged in equitable information campaigns during the COVID‐19 pandemic to address health barriers common in vulnerable communities, including issues of access, fear, and language barriers. Using a sui generis data set of COVID‐19 testing and vaccine‐related Twitter posts from local government agencies, elected officials, and CBOs from Houston, Texas, we find that local government agencies were more likely than elected officials and CBOs to engage in equitable information campaigns and that among elected officials, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to engage in equitable messaging. These findings have important implications for communication strategies such as targeted and culturally sensitive messaging. These findings also signal an opportunity for elected officials and CBOs to engage further with their constituents and social networks to share public health information on their public communication platforms.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139946936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hogne L. Sataøen, Ruth Østgaard Skotnes, Kåre Hansen, Mats Eriksson
At a time when disasters, pandemics, pollution, and other crises gain prominence, local governments bear a crucial responsibility for effective risk communication. Yet, there remains a gap in our understanding of how municipalities approach risk communication before a crisis occurs. This qualitative study, involving seven focus groups and 29 semistructured interviews across two Nordic countries, raises questions about ownership of municipal risk communication: What challenges do municipalities face in managing ownership in risk communication? How does the organization of communication influence municipal risk communication? The results underscore three key considerations: First, there is a critical need for municipalities to engage in definitional clarification of risk and crisis communication. Establishing a shared understanding is paramount for effective communication strategies. Second, reframing uncertainty in municipal risk communication ownership as an opportunity is suggested. Embracing the inherent uncertainties and dependencies can offer a valuable perspective. Lastly, recognizing the underappreciation of risk communication emphasizes the imperative for municipal decision makers to address resource allocation issues. This involves ensuring that communication professionals have the confidence and resources needed, vis-à-vis other functions involved in risk management.
{"title":"Municipal risk communication challenges in the Nordic context: Organizing risk ownership","authors":"Hogne L. Sataøen, Ruth Østgaard Skotnes, Kåre Hansen, Mats Eriksson","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12289","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12289","url":null,"abstract":"At a time when disasters, pandemics, pollution, and other crises gain prominence, local governments bear a crucial responsibility for effective risk communication. Yet, there remains a gap in our understanding of how municipalities approach risk communication before a crisis occurs. This qualitative study, involving seven focus groups and 29 semistructured interviews across two Nordic countries, raises questions about ownership of municipal risk communication: What challenges do municipalities face in managing ownership in risk communication? How does the organization of communication influence municipal risk communication? The results underscore three key considerations: First, there is a critical need for municipalities to engage in definitional clarification of risk and crisis communication. Establishing a shared understanding is paramount for effective communication strategies. Second, reframing uncertainty in municipal risk communication ownership as an opportunity is suggested. Embracing the inherent uncertainties and dependencies can offer a valuable perspective. Lastly, recognizing the underappreciation of risk communication emphasizes the imperative for municipal decision makers to address resource allocation issues. This involves ensuring that communication professionals have the confidence and resources needed, vis-à-vis other functions involved in risk management.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139515334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Disasters and disaster risks are social phenomena that take place in a political space shaped by different political ideologies. Despite this connection, the field of disaster risk management has been developed without a deliberate incorporation of political theories. Using a narrative literature review methodology, this paper sought to elucidate the significance of political theory in shaping both the policy and practice of disaster risk management. The review reveals notable intersections between political theories, such as elitism and pluralism, and established disaster risk management paradigms, specifically objectivism and constructivism. Notably, elitism and objectivism tend to promote expertise, marginalize citizen participation, and emphasize centralized disaster management, whereas pluralism and constructivism advocate for diversity, tolerance, and competition, aligning with the concept of disaster risk management. The paper argues that ignoring political theories in disaster risk management can conceal a deeper understanding of the power relations between different stakeholders, as well as the historical, economic, social, and political characteristics of a society. It advocates for future studies to examine the contributions of political theories explicitly and critically to disaster risk policies and practices. This call highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how political theories impact the effectiveness and equity of disaster risk management.
{"title":"A critical review of the significance of elitism and pluralism to disaster risk management","authors":"Paul Chipangura, Dewald Van Niekerk","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12290","url":null,"abstract":"Disasters and disaster risks are social phenomena that take place in a political space shaped by different political ideologies. Despite this connection, the field of disaster risk management has been developed without a deliberate incorporation of political theories. Using a narrative literature review methodology, this paper sought to elucidate the significance of political theory in shaping both the policy and practice of disaster risk management. The review reveals notable intersections between political theories, such as elitism and pluralism, and established disaster risk management paradigms, specifically objectivism and constructivism. Notably, elitism and objectivism tend to promote expertise, marginalize citizen participation, and emphasize centralized disaster management, whereas pluralism and constructivism advocate for diversity, tolerance, and competition, aligning with the concept of disaster risk management. The paper argues that ignoring political theories in disaster risk management can conceal a deeper understanding of the power relations between different stakeholders, as well as the historical, economic, social, and political characteristics of a society. It advocates for future studies to examine the contributions of political theories explicitly and critically to disaster risk policies and practices. This call highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how political theories impact the effectiveness and equity of disaster risk management.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139515318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
How are trust and reslience related? There is a lack of conceptual discussions. This paper analyzes trust and resilience with respect to the system of critical infrastructures and engineers working on critical infrastructure resilience. The results are three findings based on the assumption that resilience and trust are mechanisms to cope with complexity and uncertainty inherent to modern societies and critical infrastructures. First, they are no functional alternatives. Trust is an everyday process where favorable expectations help to act “as if” uncertainty was successfully resolved. Resilience helps to cope in “what if” cases when disaster strikes. Second, resembling the risk perception paradox, too much trust in critical infrastructures might lead to complacency, decreasing individual coping capacities and subsequently resilience. People need a healthy dose of distrust—distrust being a functional alternative to trust and not its opposite—to be aware that a disruption might happen and prepare for it. Third, notwithstanding the difficulties of uncertainty communication, engineers need to communicate limits to knowledge resulting from complexity transparently. This might decrease trust in specific solutions, but could sustain overall system trust, because it helps to adjust favorable expectations.
{"title":"Discussing trust and resilience: The need for a healthy dose of distrust","authors":"Benjamin Scharte","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12287","url":null,"abstract":"How are trust and reslience related? There is a lack of conceptual discussions. This paper analyzes trust and resilience with respect to the system of critical infrastructures and engineers working on critical infrastructure resilience. The results are three findings based on the assumption that resilience and trust are mechanisms to cope with complexity and uncertainty inherent to modern societies and critical infrastructures. First, they are no functional alternatives. Trust is an everyday process where favorable expectations help to act “as if” uncertainty was successfully resolved. Resilience helps to cope in “what if” cases when disaster strikes. Second, resembling the risk perception paradox, too much trust in critical infrastructures might lead to complacency, decreasing individual coping capacities and subsequently resilience. People need a healthy dose of distrust—distrust being a functional alternative to trust and not its opposite—to be aware that a disruption might happen and prepare for it. Third, notwithstanding the difficulties of uncertainty communication, engineers need to communicate limits to knowledge resulting from complexity transparently. This might decrease trust in specific solutions, but could sustain overall system trust, because it helps to adjust favorable expectations.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139420944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Relocation has become a major thrust of hazard mitigation policy. Home buyout programs are currently the primary policy tool to facilitate permanent voluntary relocation of households out of flood-prone areas. This study seeks to evaluate public perceptions of relocation and home buyouts to better understand: Are home buyouts perceived by the public as a means to relocate away from risk? If not—who has dissonant perceptions? An original survey of Gulf Coast residents demonstrates that about 30% of households have dissonant perceptions of home buyout programs in relation to relocation away from disaster risk. Among those with aligned perceptions, individuals with higher risk perceptions and disaster experiences are more likely to consider relocating and participating in a home buyout; the same is not evident among those with dissonant perceptions. The individual-level factors associated with dissonant relocation-home buyout perceptions suggest that this part of the community may be misdirecting efforts and resources dedicated for community-wide hazard risk reduction. These findings should be used to develop more efficient policy tools to facilitate retreat from the most flood-prone areas.
{"title":"Home buyout without relocation: An examination of dissonant hazard mitigation perceptions among Gulf Coast residents","authors":"Abbey E. Hotard, Ashley D. Ross","doi":"10.1002/rhc3.12284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12284","url":null,"abstract":"Relocation has become a major thrust of hazard mitigation policy. Home buyout programs are currently the primary policy tool to facilitate permanent voluntary relocation of households out of flood-prone areas. This study seeks to evaluate public perceptions of relocation and home buyouts to better understand: Are home buyouts perceived by the public as a means to relocate away from risk? If not—who has dissonant perceptions? An original survey of Gulf Coast residents demonstrates that about 30% of households have dissonant perceptions of home buyout programs in relation to relocation away from disaster risk. Among those with aligned perceptions, individuals with higher risk perceptions and disaster experiences are more likely to consider relocating and participating in a home buyout; the same is not evident among those with dissonant perceptions. The individual-level factors associated with dissonant relocation-home buyout perceptions suggest that this part of the community may be misdirecting efforts and resources dedicated for community-wide hazard risk reduction. These findings should be used to develop more efficient policy tools to facilitate retreat from the most flood-prone areas.","PeriodicalId":21362,"journal":{"name":"Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138530394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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