Place-Based Citizen Science for Assessing Risk Perception and Coping Capacity of Households Affected by Multiple Hazards

Since hazards act upon vulnerability and exposure to become disasters, the understanding of societal challenges is key for disaster risk reduction. This condition is even more critical when more than one hazard is in place. Taking the case of flooding and water shortage, this study is built upon the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2021-01, Vol.13 (1), p.302
Main Authors: Alves, Priscila Barros Ramalho, Cordão, Maria José de Sousa, Djordjević, Slobodan, Javadi, Akbar A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Case studies
Climate change
Disasters
Drought
Flooding
Floods
Households
Perception
Risk assessment
Risk management
Risk perception
Risk reduction
Semi arid areas
Semiarid lands
Socioeconomic factors
Urban areas
Water shortages
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Summary:Since hazards act upon vulnerability and exposure to become disasters, the understanding of societal challenges is key for disaster risk reduction. This condition is even more critical when more than one hazard is in place. Taking the case of flooding and water shortage, this study is built upon the premise that disasters are a social phenomenon; therefore, it is essential to comprehend the social context in which they occur. Particularly, this study aims to evaluate the similarities and differences in risk perception and the coping capacity of residents in the multiple-hazard context. For this, a place-based citizen science approach was developed in this study in Campina Grande, a semiarid region of Brazil, with the collaboration of 199 participants. Risk perception and coping capacity were analysed through the citizens’ participation, while combining subjective and objective methods. The results indicate that even though residents have experienced severe flooding and water shortages in the past, they still have low coping capacity. The findings highlight the need to combine a triad of societal challenges, namely information, trust, and incentives, to improve coping capacity in the future and increase resilience. This study underlines the need to understand multiple hazards according to social, spatial, and temporal scales in a socio-spatial perspective.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su13010302