Trouble in Paradise: How do Social Capital and Place Attachment Emerge in Post-disaster Community

• In Event: 331 - Section on Environment and Technology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Disasters

Abstract

Sociological research on disaster-affected communities has too often viewed social capital or social networks as an independent variable, or a resource that helps us understand a variety of post-disaster outcomes. Rarely and only recently has this work looked at the ways the disaster experience generates new forms of social capital and reinvigorates place-based social networks and place attachment. Using survey data collected from 407 residents of Calgary, Alberta, all affected by the catastrophic 2013 Southern Alberta flood, the present study examines which residents expanded their social networks during the course of the disaster and, in turn, how those expanded networks contributed to residents’ post-disaster place attachment. Findings reveal that those most affected by the flood (longer evacuations, houses that flooded) were the most likely to make new contacts during and immediately after the disaster. But, results also indicate that these new forms of social capital did not translate into greater attachment to one’s neighborhood. In fact, evacuation, displacement, and inundation are predictive of less post-disaster place attachment, suggesting that disaster-affected communities require more concerted efforts to promote and encourage civic engagement. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of findings for social theory and disaster scholarship.

Author

• Timothy James Haney, Mount Royal University