The significance of Gilbert F. White’s 1945 paper ‘Human adjustment to floods’ in the development of risk and hazard management

Macdonald, Neil; Chester, David K.; Sangster, Heather; Todd, Beverley; Hooke, Janet

doi:10.1177/0309133311414607

Cited by 48 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This failure led to the second legacy, moral hazard behaviour encouraged by the dams and levees, also referred to as the 'levee effect' (Di Baldassarre et al, 2018). The problem was first recognized by the great American geographer Gilbert White, who argued that levees and dams opened up floodplains to more intensive development, and thus when floods came, damage would be increased; this insight has shaped thinking about flood control in the US and elsewhere (Macdonald, Chester, Sangster, Todd, & Hooke, 2011).…”

Section: Mitigation-hampering Legacies In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sticks and carrots for reducing property-level risks from floods: an EU–US comparative perspective

Suykens

Tarlock

Priest

et al. 2019

Water International

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Post-flood policies and compensation regimes tend to focus on the resilience of public spaces and improving the adaptive capacity of future private property developments. This article focuses on the instruments associated with the resilience of existing privately owned residential buildings from the perspective of post-flood policies and compensation regimes. By reviewing the relevant legal and policy landscapes it aims to provide mutual lessons learned between the EU, its member states and the US and to set forth generally applicable recommendations for improving post-flood policies for existing buildings. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. been given to the use of flood recovery instruments to mitigate the costs of future flood events.This article focusses on the rather neglected nexus between flood mitigation and recovery and argues that post-flood recovery must be used both for humanitarian relief and to plan and construct more resilient spaces. Examples of post-flood measures associated with the mitigation strategy are adaptive building requirements, resilient reinstatement efforts and green infrastructure, whereas the prime measure of the recovery strategy relates to financially compensating people following the occurrence of a flood event, be it through public ex post compensation schemes or insurance mechanisms (Suykens, Priest, Doorn-Hoekveld, Thuillier, & van Rijswick, 2016). Such schemes and mechanisms within the recovery strategy can and should have an important positive impact on strategies such as mitigation and prevention.The analysis is guided by the research question, What are the legal and policy requirements applicable to existing buildings after a flood event has occurred in the US and the EU, taking England and the Netherlands as examples? The following structure guides our findings. We set the scene by shedding light on the institutional DNA of the relevant countries and the EU. We then analyze the differences in flood risk management approaches in the US and the EU, the Netherlands and England. We then delve into post-flood policies specifically, and scrutinize the main key barriers in the recovery-mitigation nexus for all countries studied. Finally, we offer country-specific recommendations and more general conclusions on resilient post-flood policies.The article takes a legal research approach; more specifically, it contains a legal comparison. The comparison is a combination of dogmatic and functional approaches (Gorlé, Bourgeois, & Bocken, 1991). The dogmatic aspects relate to the in-depth analysis of primary and secondary legal sources (legislation of national governments, decentralized legislation, guidance and policy documents, case law) and a comprehensive overview of the legal system of the studied jurisdictions. The functional aspects regard the notion that a legal institution s...

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Section: Mitigation-hampering Legacies In the United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sticks and carrots for reducing property-level risks from floods: an EU–US comparative perspective

Suykens

Tarlock

Priest

et al. 2019

Water International

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“…The opponents, generally from an engineering background, found White's ideas on human adjustments highly controversial, and argued he promoted un-American ideas. They were great proponents of engineering as a panacea for solving all flood management problems [77]. However, White's 1958 study Regulating Flood Plain Management and increasing loss of property and cost of flood damage, changed the course of the debate in White's favour.…”

Section: Niche Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing the Role of Visions, Agency, and Niches in Historical Transitions in Watershed Management in the Lower Mississippi River

Voorn

Quist

2018

Water

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This paper analyses five major transitions in watershed management in the Lower Mississippi River from the early 19th century to the present. A conceptual framework is developed for analysing the role of visions, agency, and niches in water management transitions and applied to a historical case on water management in the Lower Mississippi River. It is shown that water management regimes change over time and that major transitions were preceded by niches, in which new visions were developed and empowered. The case shows that: (i) emerging visions play an important role in guiding transitions; (ii) agency enables the further diffusion of visions and niches; (iii) vision champions play an important role in transitions, but are not decisive; (iv) each transition has led to an extension of the number of societal functions provided, which has led to more complex water management regimes in which functions are combined and integrated; and (v) external landscape factors are important, as they can lead to awareness and urgency in important decision making processes.

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“…The opponents, generally from an engineering background, found White's ideas on human adjustments highly controversial, and argued he promoted un-American ideas. They were great proponents of engineering as a panacea for solving all flood management problems [72]. However, White's 1958 study Regulating Flood Plain Management and increasing loss of property and cost of flood damage, changed the course of the debate in White's favour.…”

Section: Niche Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing the Role of Visions, Agency and Niches in Historical Transitions in Water Resources Management in the Lower Mississippi River

Voorn¹,

Quist²

2018

Preprint

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This paper analyses six major transitions in watershed management in the Lower Mississippi River from the early 19th century till present. A conceptual framework is developed for analysing the role of visions, agency and niches in water management transitions and applied to a historical case on water management in the Lower Mississippi River. It is shown that water management regimes change over time and that major transitions were preceded by niches, in which new visions were developed and empowered. The case shows that: (i) emerging visions play an important role in guiding transitions; (ii) agency enables the further diffusion of visions and niches; (iii) vision champions play an important role in transitions, but are not decisive; (iv) each transition has led to an extension of the number of societal functions provided, which has led to more complex water management regimes in which functions are combined and integrated; and (v) external landscape factors are important, as they can lead to awareness and urgency in important decision making processes.

show abstract

The significance of Gilbert F. White’s 1945 paper ‘Human adjustment to floods’ in the development of risk and hazard management

Cited by 48 publications

References 22 publications

Sticks and carrots for reducing property-level risks from floods: an EU–US comparative perspective

Sticks and carrots for reducing property-level risks from floods: an EU–US comparative perspective

Analysing the Role of Visions, Agency, and Niches in Historical Transitions in Watershed Management in the Lower Mississippi River

Analysing the Role of Visions, Agency and Niches in Historical Transitions in Water Resources Management in the Lower Mississippi River

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