Decentralizing Resilience: How Local Governance and Neighborhoods Fill the Federal Gap

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Under the U.S. federalist system, states and local jurisdictions possess substantial authority to create and implement disaster resilience policies. As the role of federal agencies shifts away from direct intervention toward a supporting framework, the burden of resilience increasingly falls upon a decentralized "whole-of-community" approach. This evolution necessitates an integrated governance model where the absence of a centralized federal policy is filled by a diverse nexus of sub-national actors. This panel explores how variations in these sub-national policy environments shape disaster risk reduction and resilience outcomes. By examining four distinct mechanisms—researcher-practitioner collaborations, local hazard mitigation investments, community-level preparedness, and the psychological drivers of individual action—this session analyzes how local governments, neighborhoods, and individuals function as complementary pillars in disaster governance. Collectively, these papers investigate how a distributed policy system can effectively bridge the gap between institutional rules and the frontline of community well-being. 
Addressing the capacity constraints of local governments within the federalist framework, the first study uses a pre-registered field experiment involving 30,000 public officials to test what motivates the cross-sector collaboration necessary for resilient policy systems. By distinguishing between "epistemic reciprocity" (shared knowledge) and "identity-based reciprocity" (professional community investment), the research advances collaborative governance theory and identifies strategies to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and local action, illustrating how states can foster institutional environments that translate research into effective disaster governance. 
The second study addresses the "meso-level" relationship between government policy outputs and resident behavior. Utilizing a typology of six DRM project types, ranging from protective infrastructure to mandates, the study links 19,483 national household data to county-level hazard mitigation projects. Findings suggest that while local hazard mitigation efforts vary in their approach, protective infrastructure projects show the strongest positive associations with individual preparedness, providing evidence for how local policy design and specific investment systems can effectively incentivize behavioral change among residents. 
Further exploring these dynamics, the third study examines how the local neighborhood environment functions as a resource for vulnerable populations. Linking longitudinal health data with county-level weather warnings and ZIP code–level disaster preparedness measures (30,229 person-year observations), the research finds that repeated extreme weather warnings from National Weather Service are associated with increased pessimism about life expectancy and increased alcohol consumption among older adults. However, robust community-level preparedness significantly attenuates these negative effects. This highlights how localized variations in disaster preparedness can buffer residents against the cumulative costs of chronic weather risk. 
Finally, the fourth paper examines the psychological underpinnings of support for the climate change policies states seek to implement. Drawing on an original survey of 3,945 voters, this study utilizes cultural theory to investigate how personal disaster experience disrupts established value orientations, such as individualism and hierarchism—worldviews that are traditionally resistant to environmental regulation. The findings reveal that direct disaster damage increases climate concern and policy support across these cultural groups, regardless of partisanship. This suggests that personal experience can transcend ideological barriers, offering practical direction for how sub-national governments can build the cross-partisan coalitions necessary for meaningful climate action and community resilience.

Policy Area

• National and Homeland Security and Crisis Management

Chair

• Tian Tang, Florida State University

Discussant

• Melanie Waddell, University of Georgia

Organizer

• Hyunjung Ji, University of Alabama

Individual Presentations

• Giving Back to Get In: A Field Experiment on Researcher-Practitioner Collaboration in Disaster Governance - Presenting Author: Yixin Liu, Baruch College (City University of New York)

• Do Local Disaster Mitigation Investments Translate into Individual Preparedness Behaviors? - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Jungwon Yeo, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Presenting Author: Niks Druvis Andzans, University of Alabama

• The Protective Role of Community Preparedness: Extreme Weather Warnings, Coping, and Health Among Older Adults - Presenting Author: Hyunjung Ji, University of Alabama

• Personal Damage from Tropical Disasters Increases Support for Climate Change Policies among Individualists and Hierarchists - Presenting Author: Alessandro Del Ponte, Chapman University