Voluntary Household Relocation Decision Making in the Wake of Disaster: Re-interpreting the Empirical Record

Abstract

Household relocation decisions after disasters are influenced by many factors. Among others, these include pre- and post-event community conditions, disaster experience, available financial and social resources, place attachment, risk perceptions, and demographics. This paper provides a synthesis of the body of knowledge surrounding voluntary household relocation decisions. Simply stated, we are focused on better understanding what influences the decision to stay somewhere that has been affected by disaster or permanently leave it. This work provides two main contributions by characterizing and synthesizing research exploring relocation drivers. First, we provide several new directions for the study of this issue by proposing theoretical models not commonly used in this area of research with potential to provide insight. Second, we critically discuss the need for improvements in the conceptualization and measurement of these concepts.