Communities in the Austin area are challenged by climate change and natural hazards. What factors help them feel confident in public sector (local, state, and federal government) and nonprofit sector (non-profits and community-based groups) organizations that prepare for and respond to natural hazards? A team of researchers for the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP), Drs. Hwang, Bixler and Vedlitz, examine these factors in their paper, Growing Community Resilience from the Grassroots: Risk Awareness, Confidence in Institutions, and Civic Participation in a Natural Hazards Context, recently published in Natural Hazards Review.
Using surveys collected from a large sample of households in the greater Austin area, the team analyzed the effect of three factors: people’s perceptions of their community’s level of preparedness, the individual’s household level of preparedness, and the individual’s experience with natural hazards on confidence in institutions responsible for mitigating hazard risks. Their analyses indicate that confidence in both types of organizations significantly bolstered their belief that their community is well prepared. Individual experience with natural hazards weakens confidence in the readiness of the public sector. Positive perceptions of community preparedness and experience with natural hazards resulted in Austin area community members strongly indicating that the public and nonprofit sectors should be actively involved in recommending and implementing policies for community resilience. Support for civic participation in turn significantly increased confidence in the public section and the nonprofit sector.
This paper was selected for Editor’s choice from Natural Hazards Review, highlighted in American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s blog (https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/article/2023/08/29/community-resilience-how-the-public-views-agencies-preparedness-for-disasters).
