Fractured landscapes: The racialization of home buyout programs and climate adaptation

Zavar, Elyse; Fischer, Lauren Ames

doi:10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100043

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The success of these efforts, while notable, remains limited and their impacts understudied. Notably, scholars continue to raise broader concerns that the way in which relocations are implemented may contribute to injustices created by past practices and exacerbated by climate change (c.f., Elliott et al, 2020; Greer et al, 2021; Loughran, Elliott & Kennedy, 2019; Mach et al, 2019; Zavar & Fischer, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Upheaval”: Unpacking the dynamic balance between place attachment and social capital in disaster recovery

Binder

Baker

Ritchie

et al. 2023

American J of Comm Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A growing body of literature demonstrates that both place attachment and social capital play considerable, and likely interdependent, roles in disaster recovery. This paper contributes to our understanding of these constructs by presenting findings from a longitudinal, mixed‐methods study of communities impacted by a home buyout program implemented in New York after Hurricane Sandy (N = 111). Results suggest a dynamic balance between place dependence, place identity, and bonding social capital, in which the relative importance of each construct can shift over time, and where losses in one of these areas may lead to cascading losses in the other areas. For buyout participants, increases in place dependence were associated with increases in bonding social capital, indicating that relocatees either regained both place dependence and bonding social capital in their new homes and communities, or they lost and did not regain both, depending on whether their new home and community met their emotional and functional needs sufficiently. For residents who remained in place, higher levels of place dependence were associated with losses in bonding social capital, reflecting the potential consequences of living in postdisaster limbo. Implications for future buyout research, policy, and practice are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Upheaval”: Unpacking the dynamic balance between place attachment and social capital in disaster recovery

Binder

Baker

Ritchie

et al. 2023

American J of Comm Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…22,68 In response to community fragmentations and preserving social values and community ties, buyout programs should consider voluntary collective relocation of communities to safer sites and conduct the programs based on a community-driven process and participation of the residents. 20,21,60…”

Section: Discussion: Negative Effects Of Buyoutsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[17][18][19] A buyout process that is community-driven, considerate of locals' needs, with a participatory implementation process, can improve the short-term and long-term wellbeing of the residents, and increase participation and public trust in the current and future buyout actions. 14,20,21 Adequate financial and structural support may help households perceive and experience the buyout as an opportunity to improve wellbeing. However, without adequate financial assistance, relocated residents might end up in areas of similar or higher hazard risk.…”

Section: Buyouts For Residents' Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The level of residents' wellbeing is related to people being able to interact in healthy social and physical environments that include them as a member and in contact with others 17–19 . A buyout process that is community‐driven, considerate of locals' needs, with a participatory implementation process, can improve the short‐term and long‐term wellbeing of the residents, and increase participation and public trust in the current and future buyout actions 14,20,21 . Adequate financial and structural support may help households perceive and experience the buyout as an opportunity to improve wellbeing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rationale and processes of residential buyout programs: A review on buyout regulations and consequences in Japan and the U.S.

Ghezelloo

Kondo

Maly

et al. 2023

Japan Architectural Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Government acquisition of residential land has played a growing role in the reconstruction of housing in safer places and reduction of water‐related risks. This paper explores how the rationales and processes of residential buyouts may result in different consequences for coastal recovery, mitigation, and residents' wellbeing referring to government documents and existing literature, we explored the characteristics of buyout programs in Japan and the U.S., identified consequences of mitigation and recovery, and deduced the effects of community buyouts. Our study revealed buyout programs could reduce risk exposure, enhance sustainable and resilient coastal rewilding, housing recovery, and building of community resilience. However, they could also contribute to limiting homeowners' opportunities to make their own choices to stay or relocate, the distribution of residents into unfamiliar communities, creation of checkerboard patterns of acquired properties, and un‐utilized vast vacant lands. These results suggest that planners and disaster managers need careful consideration to redesign and manage property acquisition programs that not only increase regional resilience, but also are equitable for affected residents and utilization of acquired lands.

show abstract

“…Although the results from this exploratory study identify some important considerations to shape future research on mandatory relocations, we see the clear need for more longitudinal, qualitative and mixed methods research that seeks to understand residential and implementing agencies' experiences related to relocation through both eminent domain and buyout programs. Without this empirical research, scholars, practitioners, and policy makers can easily fall into the trap of using technocratic problem solving to address social issues, namely using property acquisition policies to relocate households at risk to flooding while ignoring the suite of historical and structural mechanisms that have influenced where people live and their risk exposure (Elliott et al 2020;Loughran et al 2019;Zavar and Fischer 2021). Property acquisitions, among other climate adaptation strategies, are evolving on racialized landscapes already influenced by past housing and hazard mitigation policies (Hardy et al 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the past to understand future property acquisitions: an examination of historic voluntary and mandatory household relocations

Zavar

Binder²,

Greer

et al. 2022

Nat Hazards

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As climate change continues to exacerbate hazard losses across the USA, many communities are seeking to permanently reduce their hazard exposure by relocating households out of high-risk areas. In the USA, governments have traditionally relocated households using two mechanisms: buyout programs and eminent domain. Although both programs acquire private properties for public ownership and use, buyout programs are defined as voluntary by government entities, whereas eminent domain is compulsory. For decades, Harris County, Texas, has used both voluntary buyouts and eminent domain to relocate households out of flood-prone areas for different uses; buyouts produce open space, whereas eminent domain is used for flood risk reduction projects Although the literature on buyouts continues to grow, especially related to managed retreat, little research considers mandated relocation in response to hazard in the USA despite the increasing potential and calls for mandated relocations due to sea level rise and other climate-induced hazards. To address this gap in the literature, we analyze county records spanning approximately 100 years to examine the geographic patterns related to Harris County’s use of eminent domain and buyouts programs to mitigate flood hazards. Integrating these records into a Geographic Information System, this novel study is the first to compare these two programs and consider the implications for future managed retreat.

show abstract

Fractured landscapes: The racialization of home buyout programs and climate adaptation

Cited by 17 publications

References 68 publications

“Upheaval”: Unpacking the dynamic balance between place attachment and social capital in disaster recovery

“Upheaval”: Unpacking the dynamic balance between place attachment and social capital in disaster recovery

Rationale and processes of residential buyout programs: A review on buyout regulations and consequences in Japan and the U.S.

Using the past to understand future property acquisitions: an examination of historic voluntary and mandatory household relocations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About