Place-Based Citizen Science for Assessing Risk Perception and Coping Capacity of Households Affected by Multiple Hazards

Priscila Barros Ramalho Alves,Slobodan Djordjević,Akbar A. Javadi,Maria José de Sousa Cordão

doi:10.3390/su13010302

Priscila Barros Ramalho Alves, Slobodan Djordjević + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010302

Copy DOI

Abstract

Since hazards act upon vulnerability and exposure to become disasters, the understanding of societal challenges is key for disaster risk reduction. This condition is even more critical when more than one hazard is in place. Taking the case of flooding and water shortage, this study is built upon the premise that disasters are a social phenomenon; therefore, it is essential to comprehend the social context in which they occur. Particularly, this study aims to evaluate the similarities and differences in risk perception and the coping capacity of residents in the multiple-hazard context. For this, a place-based citizen science approach was developed in this study in Campina Grande, a semiarid region of Brazil, with the collaboration of 199 participants. Risk perception and coping capacity were analysed through the citizens’ participation, while combining subjective and objective methods. The results indicate that even though residents have experienced severe flooding and water shortages in the past, they still have low coping capacity. The findings highlight the need to combine a triad of societal challenges, namely information, trust, and incentives, to improve coping capacity in the future and increase resilience. This study underlines the need to understand multiple hazards according to social, spatial, and temporal scales in a socio-spatial perspective.

Highlights

Disasters are a social phenomenon [1]
This study is built upon answering this question: How can we improve the uptake of coping capacity strategies, in the future, when residents face multiple hazards? our study aims to understand more deeply the social vulnerabilities in the multi-hazard context by answering two research questions: 1
Disasters act upon vulnerability and exposure to create risk; this context can be worsened when more than one hazard is in place

Summary

Introduction

Disasters are a social phenomenon [1]. According to United Nations Office for DisasterRisk Reduction (UNDRR), disasters are a serious disruption to the functioning of a community or a society at any scale. Culturally, politically, institutionally, or otherwise marginalised are especially vulnerable to climate change and to some adaptation and mitigation responses [2]. This intensified vulnerability is the product of intersecting social processes that result in inequalities in socioeconomic status and income, as well as exposure [3,4]. Such social processes include, for example, discrimination based on gender, class, ethnicity, age, and (dis)ability [5,6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion