The importance of place in early disaster recovery: a case study of the 2013 Colorado floods

Andrew Rumbach, Carrie Makarewicz and Jeremy Németh

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2016, vol. 59, issue 11, 2045-2063

Abstract: Recovery is an important but understudied phase in the disaster management cycle. Researchers have identified numerous socio-demographic factors that help explain differences in recovery among households, but are less clear on the importance of place, which we define as a household's locality and local governance. In this paper, we examine the influence of place on disaster recovery through a study of the 2013 Colorado floods. Our findings are based on data collected from interviews, observation of recovery meetings, and a survey of 96 flood-affected households. We show that place shapes a household's disaster recovery by structuring: (1) physical exposure to hazards; (2) which local government has jurisdiction over recovery decisions; (3) local planning culture and its approach to citizen participation; and (4) the strength of social capital networks. Our findings expand the recovery literature and show that place-level variables should be taken into consideration when conceptualizing household recovery and resilience.

Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2015.1116981

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