First Advisor

Martin Lafrenz

Date of Award

6-3-2024

Document Type

Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geography

Department

Geography

Language

English

DOI

10.15760/geomaster.30

Abstract

Hazard mitigation plans (HMPs) are strategic documents or policies developed by governments, communities, and organizations to identify risks and reduce the impacts of natural and human- made hazards. These plans aim to minimize loss of life, property damage, and disruption from floods, wildfires, snowstorms, heatwaves, and other disasters. While useful, these plans infrequently and unevenly address the lived experiences of marginalized populations who bear the disproportionate impacts of recurrent disasters. Technocratic planning goals exacerbate these impacts by failing to center inclusive and equity-focused approaches, thus eroding the resilience capacities of many vulnerable groups including the poor and communities of color. In this paper, I use content analysis to understand how HMPs in the Portland Metro region address multi-hazard scenarios, climate change, equity, and social vulnerability. For comparison, I perform a similar analysis on local climate action plans and policies authored by community advocacy groups. A political economy framework is employed to interrogate if and how these different plans are working to disrupt or reinforce structural inequalities within a disaster management context. Findings revealed cascading disasters, social vulnerability, climate change and equity were inadequately addressed by HMPs. Only CAPs robustly acknowledged the role of climate change in present and near future disaster trends, discussed the interdependencies between extreme weather hazards, and offered strategies for achieving equitable disaster management outcomes. This study highlights the need for greater communication between disaster management experts, climate scientists, and community residents to produce equitable DDR strategies that not only dismantle the structural inequalities responsible for social vulnerability but also account for the overlapping and compounding nature of extreme weather events.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42406

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