Does post-disaster aid promote community resilience? Evidence from federal disaster programs

Climate- and weather-related disasters have become increasingly frequent and costly, resulting in substantial government spending on disaster assistance. Yet less is known about the effectiveness of disaster aid in enhancing community resilience to future disaster risks. This study examines multiple post-disaster aid programs implemented by the US federal government to support state and local governments as well as households and private businesses. Specifically, we estimate the risk-mitigating effects of these disaster-related programs by linking program spending with reported economic losses from flooding. Our empirical analysis utilizing panel data at the county level finds that low-interest disaster loans lead to the largest reduction in subsequent flooding damage, and grants targeting public infrastructure restoration and flood control measures also reduce future flooding losses. Results suggest a limited loss-mitigating effect of disaster cash aid given to private individuals. These findings provide important implications for federal disaster policy design and suggest that more efficiency gains could be realized by redistributing funds and streamlining processes across programs and agencies.

     

δ13C food web analysis of a Texas sand dune community

Stable carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) were determined for 31 plant and 16 animal species from a sand dune community on the south Texas coast. Plants and insects had similar δ¹³C values, forming two distinct groups, while herbivorous rodents formed a third intermediate group. This suggests that insects at the study site are specialists which feed on C₃ or C₄ plants, while the rodents are generalists, feeding on plants of both groups.     

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory for modelling community resilience to natural disasters

This paper advocates the use of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory as a framework to analyse resilience at diverse scales. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory can be employed to (a) benchmark social resilience, (b) target the priority interventions required and (c) measure progress arising from these interventions to enhance resilience to natural disasters. First, the paper explores resilience to natural disasters in the context of climatic change as building resilience is seen as a way to mitigate impacts of natural disasters. Second, concepts of resilience are systematically examined and documented, outlining resilience as a trait and resilience as a process. Third, issues arising in relation to the measurement of resilience are discussed. Fourth, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory is described and proffered to model and assess resilience at different scales. Fifth, studies are described which have supported the use of the bioecological systems theory for the study of resilience. Sixth, an example of the use of Bronfenbrenner’s theory is offered and the paper concludes with suggestions for future research using Bronfenbrenner’s theory.     

Japan’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jishu-bosai-soshiki</Emphasis> community activities: analysis of its role in participatory community disaster risk management

Jishu-bosai-soshiki, or Jishubo for short, with a literal meaning of “autonomous organization for disaster reduction”, is a neighborhood association for disaster preparedness and rescue activity. In this paper, the role of Jishubo in the context of participatory disaster management in Japan is discussed. Although the formation of Jishubo is not legally mandated, local governments exercise a great deal of persuasion on the inhabitants of their community to organize and participate in disaster management activities. Therefore, participants in Jishubo activities tend to be guided and mobilized with a soft touch by local governments rather than being truly self-motivated, with the objective of reducing disaster risks in their residential areas. There have been several studies on community participatory management conducted in a number of countries, including New Zealand, the USA and Europe, which will serve as a reference in our study. However interesting, the cultural comparison of the “Western” and “Japanese” approaches to community disaster management, is beyond the scope of this paper, the aim of which is to determine a case of community disaster management in Japan. This paper addresses the background behind the development of Jishubo and discusses the uniqueness and limits of this softly mobilized participatory movement in Japan. Based on a case study in Kishiwada City, Osaka, the motivations driving people to participate in disaster management activities organized for Jishubo members is examined. In conclusion, we derive some policy implications and suggest possible approaches for improving the effectiveness of Jishubo and increasing the motivation of people to participate. We also propose that the roles of administrative bodies in Japan, such as non-profit organizations, be better incorporated into community’s participatory disaster reduction activities.     

Communities,abandonment and ‘recognition’: The case of post-state funding community bodies

Communities have increasingly been internalised as subjects with responsibilities in the delivery of urban policy and involvement in broader urban governance. A prominent example is the English New Deal for Communities (NDC) programme that ran between 2001 and 2012. Towards the end of government funding, NDCs were required to develop succession strategies that would leave a ‘legacy’ for their communities. This involved the development of social enterprise bodies that would continue to support community involvement and regeneration efforts through ownership of capital assets, acquisition of public service contracts, and partnership working with mainstream service providers. This paper examines the influence of communities on post-NDC bodies, and the relationship between these organisations and local government, which was a critical agent in the management of the previous NDC bodies. The ‘recognition’ perspective of Honneth (1995), which is concerned with the self-actualisation of actors through inter-subjective relations based on forms of recognition (e.g. respect), is deployed in the analysis of post-NDC bodies. The paper concludes that long term community representatives’ have incorporated market values as a means in which to acquire ‘respect’ from social enterprise professionals, and that there is a lack of recognition by state agents of the role of post-NDC bodies in contemporary urban governance.     

Groundwater abstraction management in Sana’a Basin,Yemen: a local community approach

Overexploitation of groundwater resources in Sana’a Basin, Yemen, is causing severe water shortages associated water quality degradation. Groundwater abstraction is five times higher than natural recharge and the water-level decline is about 4–8 m/year. About 90 % of the groundwater resource is used for agricultural activities. The situation is further aggravated by the absence of a proper water-management approach for the Basin. Water scarcity in the Wadi As-Ssirr catchment, the study area, is the most severe and this area has the highest well density (average 6.8 wells/km²) compared with other wadi catchments. A local scheme of groundwater abstraction redistribution is proposed, involving the retirement of a substantial number of wells. The scheme encourages participation of the local community via collective actions to reduce the groundwater overexploitation, and ultimately leads to a locally acceptable, manageable groundwater abstraction pattern. The proposed method suggests using 587 wells rather than 1,359, thus reducing the well density to 2.9 wells/km². Three scenarios are suggested, involving different reductions to the well yields and/or the number of pumping hours for both dry and wet seasons. The third scenario is selected as a first trial for the communities to action; the resulting predicted reduction, by 2,371,999 m³, is about 6 % of the estimated annual demand. Initially, the groundwater abstraction volume should not be changed significantly until there are protective measures in place, such as improved irrigation efficiency, with the aim of increasing the income of farmers and reducing water use.     

What kind of countryside do the public want: community visions from Wales UK?

This paper assesses how far community led rural visions accord with the current thrust of rural planning policy delivery in the UK. Adapting conventional visioning methods, qualitative techniques were used on eight different communities across urban, exurban and rural Wales to elicit views relating to the kind of local countryside(s) that were desired. The results show that the communities’ visions reflect an emerging consensus around local countryside priorities: multifunctionality, integration, wider countryside protection, development based on need, and local distinctiveness according with the thrust of current planning policy at national and local levels. However, there is a clear dichotomy between this and the reality of what communities actually experienced in developments affecting their countryside. Here, universal criticism was encountered over the type, pace and scale of development, the lack of rural specificity and the failure to take account of local community needs and priorities. It is hypothesized that tensions between national and local politics and stakeholder power relations are playing a crucial role in distorting the delivery of town and country planning. It is recommended that rural policy delivery must become more “joined up” and rural proofed at national and local levels concomitant with a change in the operational culture of agencies at the forefront of rural delivery. Essentially, effective engagement of top down approaches synergising with bottom up community led ideas is long overdue.     

Older people’s psychosocial needs in a post-disaster rural community of China: an exploratory study

Older people are arguably one of the most vulnerable groups during a disaster. Existing studies either in China or in other countries predominantly focus on the more Western, pathology-based mental health approach in addressing the impact of disasters on older victims and their needs. However, the concept of ‘psychosocial’ recognises that problems caused by emergencies can simultaneously be of a social nature and a psychological one. This concept emerged from a growing critique on individual oriented mental health approach in disaster contexts. The present study was conducted to explore older people’s needs from a psychosocial perspective. The research site was a Chinese rural community located in the epicentre of ‘5.12’ Wenchuan earthquake (Ms = 8.0) occurred in 2008. The authors conducted content analyses on the qualitative in-depth interviews with 10 (5 males and 5 females) out of 30 older persons from this community. The findings revealed three major psychosocial problems: (1) constant fear of recurring debris flows; (2) sense of helplessness; and (3) disruption to previous social network. Indubitably, the participants reported family members and neighbours as their major sources of social support in emergency situations. This exploratory study argues that older people being exposed to disasters will not only develop psychological problems but also suffer disruption to their social support network and puts forward that empowering family and strengthening community cohesion are important initiatives for helping professionals to promote older people’s psychosocial well-being and enhance their resilience to natural disasters.     

Cultivating alternative spaces – Zagreb’s community gardens in transition: From socialist to post-socialist perspective

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of community gardens in a (post)socialist setting during a time of key changes in their perception and management. Community gardens in Zagreb emerged in two specific economic and socio-cultural contexts and a diachronous approach to the study of urban gardens offers a unique insight into differences and similarities reflecting and contrasting those periods. Semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observation were employed. Results show that community gardens in Zagreb are multilayered places which satisfy diverse needs of the urban residents, including home grown food, socializing, recreation, contact with the nature, and supplementation for low pensions. They can also be seen as examples of heterotopias or alternative spaces during both examined periods. In the socialist period they were secluded, private, pseudo-rural places in a semi-authoritarian, communal, and (supposedly) urban and industrial society. In post-socialist Zagreb, characterized by an uncontrolled and unplanned spatial context reliant on neoliberal market-oriented principles, social insensitivity and exclusion, the new gardens are depicted as beacons of communal involvement, grassroots movements, and the ability of citizens to stand together and make their voices heard.     

“Washed away”—assessing community perceptions of flooding and prevention strategies: a North Queensland example

This article explored the perceptions of residents of a regional city in North Queensland of how to remain safe during flood events. It also explored reasons for and how to prevent risk-taking behaviour in floodwater using the protection motivation theory (PMT). PMT is a psychological theory which has recently been applied to assess behaviour during floods and was used as a framework to analyse the themes of responses to the online survey. The online survey was conducted prior to the wet season of 2011/2012 with 130 Townsville residents participating. The results indicate that about half of respondents (55 %) had some experience with floods of which driving through floodwater (38 %) was the most common type of flood experience listed and was more common amongst male respondents. Respondents’ advice to keep friends and family safe during floods was consistent with “coping appraisal”, which would improve their ability to cope with the flood. Prior experiences with floodwater influenced the reasons given for why people drive through floodwater and were taken to be indicative of an actor/observer bias. Respondents who had experience driving through floodwater (the actors) indicate how the context of the situation can influence decision-making, whereas those respondents who had no personal experience of driving through floodwater (the observers) were more likely to cite low perceived vulnerability of harm as a motivator. Prevention strategies focused on structural mechanisms to block access, information provision and punishment of offenders. It is suggested that in communities which regularly experience flooding, timely and context-specific reminders of the dangers inherent in floodwater along with the type, effectiveness and cost of protective action could minimise the public’s contact with floodwater and prove useful regardless of past experiences.     

Microbial community signature in Lake Coeur d’Alene: Association of environmental variables and toxic heavy metal phases

The water and sediments of Lake Coeur d’Alene in northern Idaho (USA) have been impacted by decades of mining operations within the Coeur d’Alene mining district. Using a multivariate statistical approach, correlations were explored between the microbial community (via 16S rDNA microarray) in sediment cores and operationally defined heavy metal phases (via continuous sequential extractions). Candidate phyla NC10, OP8 and LD1PA were only detected in metal contaminated cores and diversity doubled among Natronoanaerobium in metal contaminated cores compared to the uncontaminated control site. This may suggest some increased fitness of these phyla in contaminated sediments. In contrast, diversity within the phyla Aquificae, Coprothermobacteria, and Synergistes was at least double in the uncontaminated control site. In linear models composed of two geochemical variables from the presumed sulfate reducing lineages detected in this study, orders Desulfobacterales, Desulfuromonadales, Desulfotomaculum, and Syntrophobacterales were highly correlated with Pb (positive influence) and Zn (negative influence) in the operationally defined residual fraction, and most taxa within orders from Desulfovibrionales. Bdellovibrionales highly correlated with Pb in the exchangeable/carbonate (negative influence) and oxyhydroxide (positive influence) phases. Diversity within families from metal reducing bacterial lineages Shewanellaceae, Geobacteraceae, and Rhodocyclaceae showed high correlation with Pb in the exchangeable/carbonate (negative influence) and oxyhydroxide (positive influence) phases. To our knowledge, this is the first time these techniques have been used in combination to describe a contaminated system. Resulting correlations suggest the diversity of the microbial community was influenced primarily by partitioning of heavy metals into exchangeable Pb over other Pb phases and, to a lesser extent, residual Pb to residual Zn phase partitioning.     

The effects of carbon substrates for PAHs degradation and microbial community structure changing in anaerobic sediments of Taihu Lake

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exhibit toxic properties at low concentrations and several have been listed as priority pollutants to be monitored in industrial effluents, natural waters, soils, and sediments. Now there has been tremendous interes…     

Simulating disaster volunteerism in Japan: “Pay It Forward” as a strategy for extending the post-disaster altruistic community

With the projected increase in both tropical cyclone (TC) intensity and proportion of the global population living near the coast, adequate preparation to protect against TC flooding is in the economic interest of coastal cities worldwide. Numerical models that describe TC properties, e.g., storm surge and wind fields, are currently employed to simulate the component of flooding that results from seawater inundation of areas along the coast (i.e., saltwater flooding). However, without the inclusion of freshwater flooding, contributed by inland surface flow and direct precipitation, a total water level (TWL) system for TC flooding lacks a complete picture of the actual coastal flood levels. Working toward a true TWL system, this research investigates the efficacy of the simple and efficient parametric TC rainfall model P-CLIPER (PDF Precipitation-Climatology and Persistence) to provide historically representative TC rainfall to a TWL system. This research demonstrates the success of this novel use of P-CLIPER through calibration and validation to the Tar–Pamlico River and Neuse River coastal watershed in North Carolina. In particular, the comparison of hydrographs at observation stations shows that hydrologic model output forced with P-CLIPER matches that forced with radar-observed precipitation for both timing and peaks, with the proper parameter choices for P-CLIPER. Similarly with proper parameter selection, P-CLIPER captures the peak rate and spatial pattern of observed rainfall for Hurricane Isabel. Due to the model’s simplicity, this work also reveals that P-CLIPER can be used as a parametric rainfall model in ensemble simulations, which could lead toward improved floodplain mapping, emergency management decisions, and stormwater infrastructure planning.     

Turning hustlers into entrepreneurs,and social needs into market demands: Corporate–community encounters in Nairobi,Kenya

This article contributes an empirically rich account of a social enterprise project embedded in local urban economies of Nairobi, Kenya. The confluence of rapid, unplanned urbanisation and economic liberalisation has led to growing formations of informal settlements and a vibrant informal sector across post-colonial cities. These “slum” neighbourhoods, housing the majority of the urban population on a fraction of the city’s land, are often ignored and marginalized by the state and municipal authorities, particularly with regards to basic service provision. At the same time, slum economies provide entry-points for various enterprise-led development schemes seeking to commercially engage both entrepreneurial individuals and their existing customer base in order to scale access to unmet needs. The discussion is based on an ethnographic study in one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, which focused on the everyday practices of a local micro-franchise called “Community Cleaning Services”. The article illustrates how waste workers and self-proclaimed “hustlers” were turned into micro-franchisee entrepreneurs providing a sanitation service to residential customers, through their engagement with Community Cleaning Services. This ethnographic account raises two potentially contradictory but inter-related debates that are rarely considered alongside one another in the existing literature on corporate involvement in low-income markets. First, it reframes the critiques of enterprise-led initiatives to “poverty alleviation” by focusing on the implications of commercialising “basic” services and on the logistical and cultural challenges of turning social needs into market demands. Second, it emphasises the often-invisible role of grassroots informal economies in enabling access to vital services in the absence of an adequately resourced and responsive municipality. The article concludes with a broader reflection on the effects and limitations of corporate-led development schemes targeting the urban poor and points to the contrasting logics of grassroots entrepreneurial urbanism and corporate—albeit “socially responsible”—parameters of success.     

The significance of quality of life and sustainability at the urban–rural fringe in the making of place-based community

Understandings of community in urban–rural fringe locations in Ireland are explored in this paper. As a specific space at the interface between the urban and the rural the fringe incorporates processes of rapid physical, social, and demographic change. These give rise to a range of complex and often competing dynamics, that impact on people and place in a variety of ways. Among the main preoccupations and concerns in these rapidly evolving fringe locations are those relating to what can broadly be described as ‘quality of life’. How this concept is understood across different groups situated within the spatial setting of the fringe, and how it influences the development of a sustainable community there, are central to this discussion. Drawing on household interviews from four case-study locations surrounding Galway City, Ireland, this paper examines how quality of life is experienced across a range of social and spatial dimensions that relate to these locations, and the extent to which they provide a common set of interests around which community may be built. From a wider knowledge perspective, it contributes to debates about how the concept of community provides explanatory power regarding the way in which individuals are associated with one another on the basis of a set of shared interests or concerns within a particular spatial setting.     

“This is the mess that we are living in”: residents everyday life experiences of living in a stigmatized community

This paper is part of a larger community health study aimed at delineating the determinants of health in Sarnia. The paper specifically investigates Sarnia residents’ daily lived experiences, perceptions of and responses to living within the St. Clair River “Area of Concern” (AOC) as designated by the federal government based on the hypothesis that relatively high levels of environmental pollution in the region are negatively influencing human health. Results from in-depth interviews (N = 27) show that residents of Sarnia are conflicted by the elevation of awareness about environmental health threats by being labelled within an AOC. Residents use their emotional and sensual experiences to adopt appropriate coping strategies to live within a contaminated community. In contextualizing their everyday lived realities, residents argued that living in an AOC demands personal acceptance of the conditions in Sarnia and awareness of “bad air days” to cope with pollution exposure. Yet, residents were not willing to abandon Sarnia because of their cultural, social, and economical attachments to the place they call home. These findings suggest the need for local health policies that incorporate local concerns and perceptions of how environmental pollution affects people’s experiences and well-being. There is a necessity to involve community members as central participants in the process of policy making.     

The district of North Vancouver’s landslide management strategy: role of public involvement for determining tolerable risk and increasing community resilience

This paper examines the public involvement processes contained within the Landslide Management Strategy for the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Following a fatal landslide in the Berkley neighborhood in 2005, the District of North Vancouver convened a community-based Natural Hazards task force to establish risk-tolerance criteria for natural hazards. This paper describes the community task force approach and evaluates it against four criteria for successful public involvement: representative participation; early involvement; information availability; and impact on policy. It is identified that the District could have incorporated a broader understanding of risk, allowing public perspectives to influence the initial framing of the risk issue before charging the Natural Hazards task force to arrive at quantitative risk-tolerance criteria. The District could also have sought to engage a somewhat more representative portion of the population to serve on the Natural Hazards task force, seeking to incorporate a broader set of public values and types of knowledge. Notwithstanding, the Natural Hazards task force successfully utilized social, legal, and scientific information for informed decision-making, and their recommended risk-tolerance criteria were enacted into policy by the District of North Vancouver as a result of the process. The paper also investigates the District’s ongoing public involvement and education efforts with respect to landslide risks, considering information accessibility and its usefulness for increasing individual capacity and community resilience. Overall, the District’s ongoing, dynamic approach to risk management promises to empower individuals and foster resilient communities in the aftermath of the tragic Berkley landslide.     

Evaluation of community leaders’ perception regarding Alerta Rio,the warning system for landslides caused by heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro

Warning systems help reduce damage and save lives in disasters; however, there is a lack of research analyzing the population perception of these systems. In Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), because the city slums face the risk of landslides caused by heavy rains, a siren early warning system named “Alerta Rio” was installed in 102 areas. The purpose of this paper was to understand the perception of community leaders regarding this alert system. To this end, a survey was conducted with community leaders to collect data on whether and why the public do or do not attend to the alert. Results indicated that (1) public adherence to Alerta Rio is low despite the generally positive view of the system, (2) local violence was reported as the reason for staying at home to protect one’s property, and (3) problems with temporary shelters and the routes to them result in lack of people’s involvement in the system. Whereas these factors are similar to population perception regarding other warning systems, the community leaders also raised the public’s lack of trust in the city hall’s adopted concept of risk and in the politicians as a relevant factor in the population perception of Alerta Rio. These factors, together with the lack of prevention policies complementary with the alert system, led to perception of reduced importance of the system. For potential solutions to enhance alarm compliance, this study recommends improvement in communication, educational programs, and public engagement strategies tailored for each target group.