You don’t miss it ‘til it’s gone: insecurity, place, and the social construction of the environment

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article, I examine the social construction of the environment, ideas about the risk society, place attachment and place detachment in the aftermath of two tornadoes that occurred in 2011 in Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The specific research questions are: How does the physical world influence the social world in the face of radically changed surroundings due to disaster? How do disaster aftermaths shape the ways in which participants make sense of themselves? How does disaster undo or remake relationships people form with landmarks, locations and places, such as homes, when they are destroyed? I conducted 162 interviews in Joplin and Tuscaloosa, engaged in participant observation with nonprofit organizations, and collected archival work on the history of both cities. I have three related and overlapping findings. (1) Participants experienced a loss of reality that made it difficult for them to make sense of themselves and their places in the social and physical world. (2) Participants experienced a ‘negative sense of place’ after significant places were destroyed. (3) The participants were often unaware of their physical surroundings until a rupture like disaster caused them to understand how the environment is an important part of their everyday life.