Who prioritizes safety from natural disasters in residential selection? Insights from a Japanese survey

Abstract

Living in a place that is relatively safe from natural disasters is crucial for enhancing community resilience, particularly in disaster-prone regions such as Japan. However, as only a few studies have explored the importance of safety from natural disasters when choosing a place to live for Japanese people, it remains unclear which individuals are more likely to prioritize or deprioritize safety from natural disasters in residential selection. The present study aimed to fill this gap through an online questionnaire survey, gathering a total of 1962 valid responses. The results showed that safety from natural disasters (including floods, tsunamis, storm surges, and landslides) was a more important criterion for residential selection than ease of access to healthcare facilities, workplaces, and family members or close friends. However, it was shown to be less important than safety from crimes and ease of access to shopping facilities. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that more educated individuals and those with higher risk perception were less likely to deprioritize safety from natural disasters when choosing a place to live. The results also highlighted the fact that those who knew hazard maps and those who had disaster stockpiles were more likely to prioritize safety from natural disasters.