Place attachment in natural hazard-prone areas and decision to relocate: Research review and agenda for developing countries

Abstract

There is a growing interest in understanding the effects of place attachment as a coping strategy in response to natural hazard risk. Place attachment is based on the domain of interpersonal relationships and can be a potential parameter to influence an individual's risk perception and coping strategies in areas facing natural hazard. The aim of this systematic literature review is to assess the current state of research linking place attachment to voluntary migration among residents living in natural hazard prone areas in developing countries. While place attachment has several collective benefits and improves one's quality of life, it can be dysfunctional by reducing the perceived risk of hazard. Place attachment provides a sense of security to the residents and contributes to one's self-identity. The review finds that residents who are strongly attached to their place are unlikely to leave even when the risk is high. This is especially the case where the place attachment is related to religious beliefs and where the social capital is high. The review also identified that place attachment helped communities to better prepare for natural hazard in the pre-disaster period. The review calls for further research to unravel the complexity between place attachment and voluntary migration from natural hazard risk-prone areas.