Social capital and disaster resilience in the Ninth Ward
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1065Keywords:
Social capital, disasters, climate change, New Orleans, recovery, social equityAbstract
The conventional wisdom in disaster management is that communities exhibiting social capital are more likely to bounce back after disaster. This paper examines the link between social capital and resilience to disasters and climate change through an examination of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood before and after Hurricane Katrina. Using archives and interviews to examine the neighborhood’s recovery, the paper finds evidence for the existence of social capital and the properties of community resilience in the Lower Ninth Ward before the storm. Social capital and resilience proved to be fragile because the neighborhood was particularly vulnerable and lacked political power. Attempts to use social capital and community resilience alone as part of a strategy to combat climate change should take into account older notions of vulnerability and political power as important ingredients in community well-being.
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