Understanding risk communication in practice: Insights from municipalities in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Risk communication is emerging as an important risk-reduction and resilience-building strategy to deal with future risks to communities. However, the linkages between municipalities’ risk communication approaches and existing development priorities remain underexplored. The paper examines ways in which risk communication is practised at the municipal level in the Canadian context, using five municipalities of varying sizes in the province of Alberta, Canada. We highlight that risk communication in Alberta is practised through four broad approaches: strategic actions, public engagement, localized planning, and media and marketing. Our findings suggest that risk communication efficacy is determined by the key factors of risk perception, risk framing by multiple stakeholders, and information deficits. We contend that community-engaged frameworks that recognize social memory, as well as conflicting narratives of risk coupled with attempts to improve risk awareness, can help make future risk communication policies more robust and effective.