This research examines perceived and actual preparedness for two types of natural hazard risks: earthquakes in the Los Angeles County area and hurricanes within the New Orleans metropolitan area. Using data collected from a sample of households in these regions, the influence of individuals' confidence in local government to manage a disaster and exposure to disaster preparedness information sources were tested as explanations for levels of perceived and actual preparedness. Regression analyses show that a high level of confidence in local government to manage a disaster and exposure to more preparedness information sources were associated with a higher level of perceived preparedness. No support for a potential dampening effect of confidence in local government on household preparedness actions was found. The results also reveal only limited support for the impact of information exposure on actual preparedness. The results for actual preparedness vary between the study areas; therefore, we follow the analysis with a discussion of these differences and the implications drawn from the research.
Boarded-up housing may be related to mortality risk because of its potential adverse impact on social relationships and opportunities to engage in healthful behaviors. Neighborhood physical conditions deserve further consideration as a potential global factor influencing health and well-being.
A variety of public, private and non-profit organizations have developed programs to assist low-income families purchase homes. These programs are often justified on the grounds that homeownership has a number of social and-psychological benefits. On the individual level, homeowners are said to enjoy higher social status and self-esteem, increased sense of control, and higher levels of life satisfaction. On the societal level, homeowners are said to have higher rates of participation in voluntary organizations and local social interaction. The longitudinal research described in this article assesses the validity of these claims by comparing changes in self esteem, perceived control, life satisfaction and social interaction between a group of low-income home buyers and a demographically similar group of continuing renters. The results show that home ownership has a positive and significant impact on both the life satisfaction and participation in neighborhood and block association meetings. Home ownership, however, was not found to significantly affect self-esteem, perceived control or informal social interaction in the local area.
Abstract. Flood hazard mapping in the United States (US) is deeply tied to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Consequently, publicly available flood maps provide essential information for insurance purposes, but they do not necessarily provide relevant information for non-insurance aspects of flood risk management (FRM) such as public education and emergency planning. Recent calls for flood hazard maps that support a wider variety of FRM tasks highlight the need to deepen our understanding about the factors that make flood maps useful and understandable for local end users. In this study, social scientists and engineers explore opportunities for improving the utility and relevance of flood hazard maps through the co-production of maps responsive to end users' FRM needs. Specifically, two-dimensional flood modeling produced a set of baseline hazard maps for stakeholders of the Tijuana River valley, US, and Los Laureles Canyon in Tijuana, Mexico. Focus groups with natural resource managers, city planners, emergency managers, academia, non-profit, and community leaders refined the baseline hazard maps by triggering additional modeling scenarios and map revisions. Several important end user preferences emerged, such as (1) legends that frame flood intensity both qualitatively and quantitatively, and (2) flood scenario descriptions that report flood magnitude in terms of rainfall, streamflow, and its relation to an historic event. Regarding desired hazard map content, end users' requests revealed general consistency with mapping needs reported in European studies and guidelines published in Australia. However, requested map content that is not commonly produced included (1) standing water depths following the flood, (2) the erosive potential of flowing water, and (3) pluvial flood hazards, or flooding caused directly by rainfall. We conclude that the relevance and utility of commonly produced flood hazard maps can be most improved by illustrating pluvial flood hazards and by using concrete reference points to describe flooding scenarios rather than exceedance probabilities or frequencies.
Public choice theory predicts that interjurisdictional competition and the need for a strong tax base severely limit local policy making. City decision makers must pursue developmental or economically advantageous policies such as economic development initiatives and avoid redistributive or fiscally harmful policies such as affordable housing programs. Many social scientists object to the deterministic argument of public choice theory and emphasize the importance of politics in the policy making process. Using regression analysis, I investigate the factors that influence cities to pursue a limited strategy as predicted by public choice theory versus a balanced or more progressive approach favoring affordable housing programs over economic development programs. The results show that inter-city competition increases the likelihood cities will pursue a limited strategy versus a balanced or more progressive approach. However, political variables also influence local policy decisions. In fact, this analysis indicates that political factors are more important than inter-city competition in explaining city policy choices.City officials wrestle with a multitude of urban problems. Moreover, these decision makers typically operate with scarce resources as well as other limitations. Federal policy devolution and funding cutbacks for certain local policy activities add to the difficult policy making environment in cities. Two of the policy areas affected by federal cutbacks are economic development and affordable housing (Goetz, 1995;Nenno, 1997;Stegman, Quercia, McCarthy, Foster, & Rohe, 1991;Van Vliet, 1997). Economic development activities focus on local employment opportunities, city fiscal concerns, and the job readiness of the local labor pool, while housing policy addresses housing conditions and costs. Problems in either policy area can seriously impact the quality of life for urban residents.
Mobility is one mechanism used to address the federal goals of deconcentrating poverty and minorities. The Housing Choice Voucher Program relies on participants to make residential location decisions consistent with these goals. Our research investigates the level and impact of mobility on the neighborhood quality of voucher holders, their neighborhood conditions by race and ethnicity, and perceived obstacles to mobility within the jurisdiction of a Southern California housing authority.About one-third of the sample moved during the study, and moving resulted in improved neighborhoods for only one subset of movers. Minorities live in more impoverished, overcrowded neighborhoods than nonminorities, even when controlling for mobility status, contract rent, and other factors. Further, most voucher holders see the lack of rental units as a major obstacle to mobility. These findings suggest that current policy is not uniformly achieving deconcentration and that real and perceived barriers to mobility exist, especially for minorities.
Regionalism continues to be proffered as a policy prescription for US metropolitan ills. While many urban scholars discuss the benefits of regional approaches to problem-solving, others question, and sometimes dismiss, the possibility of widespread, comprehensive regionalism. This latter group generally takes one of two perspectives. First, they argue that local autonomy and fragmentation prohibit regional collaboration. Secondly, rational choice theorists claim jurisdiction-centred economic interest spurs intraregional competition and impedes cooperation. Although both perspectives can be criticised as overdeterministic, they appear to be supported by the limited number of examples of comprehensive metropolitan co-operation in the US. This article identifies a theoretical connection and empirical similarity between these views of impediments to regionalism. The author argues that strategies suggested by rational-based collective action theory apply to either the autonomy or competition argument; however, she notes that empirical results raise questions about adopting a strict rational-based model. The author warns against a premature dismissal of regionalism as a viable policy prescription without further research and recommends a promising path for future research on comprehensive regional co-operation.
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