Why Location Matters: How Smarter Decision-Making by Renters and Homebuyers Will Increase Coastal Resilience
Theme 4 CES Project 1: The New First Line of Defense: Building Community Resilience Through Residential Risk Disclosure
Project Narrative
Flooding is one of the most sudden and frequently occurring climate hazard events around the world. It has become increasingly vital to understand and mitigate flood risk for Gulf Coast residents as stronger and more frequent flooding impacts their daily lives. To better understand the “rational” and “non-rational” responses to flood risk, three frameworks have been proposed to understand public risk perceptions; the rational actor model or paradigm (RAP), the psychometric paradigm, and cultural theory.
Project Summary and Objectives
The goal of this project is to examine the effects of flood risk information, emotions, and cultural identity on flood risk perceptions, home-buying behaviors, and mitigation behaviors. Participants are introduced to various flood risk information graphics that potentially affect their understanding of flood risks. These graphics are used to determine the extent to which they impact decision-making.
Project Approach
This project includes three sequential components: The first component includes surveying individual Gulf Coast residents regarding flood risk perceptions, flood risk mitigation behaviors, cultural identity, scientific literacy, political identity, relevant homeowner information, and socio-economic-demographics. The second component includes focus groups of the same participants with semi-structured questions with the same subjects as the first component. The third component includes surveying a larger number of individual Gulf Coast residents regarding the same subjects as the first component.
Project Outcomes
This project is still underway and not yet complete. Components 1 through 2 have been completed but component 3 is still unfolding in an iterative process within the NAS Gulf research team. To date, this project has produced:
Theme 4 CES Project 2: Assessing the Availability of Natural Hazard and Risk Information to Low- and Moderate-Income Homebuyers
Project Narrative
This study is part of the collective work of several research facilities across the United States as part of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Gulf Research Program research project, “Why Location Matters: How Smarter Decision-Making by Renters and Homebuyers Will Increase Coastal Resilience.”
The goal of this project is to survey and interview key personnel and stakeholders within home buying programs in the Gulf Coast region of Florida and Louisiana to understand the scope and accessibility of natural hazards risk information communicated to low- and moderate-income homebuyers.
Project Summary and Objectives
This study is part of the collective work of several research facilities across the United States as part of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Gulf Research Program research project, “Why Location Matters: How Smarter Decision-Making by Renters and Homebuyers Will Increase Coastal Resilience.”
The goal of this project is to survey and interview key personnel and stakeholders within home buying programs in the Gulf Coast region of Florida and Louisiana to understand the scope and accessibility of natural hazards risk information communicated to low- and moderate-income homebuyers.
Project Approach
This research involves the administration of an online stakeholder survey discussing topics of hazard risk communication followed by semi-structured stakeholder interviews. The study population consists of local stakeholders, elected officials, appointed officials, business owners, non-profit employees, Florida State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) and state program managers and thought leaders. Stakeholders represent and are located within Florida and Louisiana.
Project Outcomes
This project is still underway and not yet complete. The stakeholder survey has been completed but the interview process is still in progress.
To date, this project has produced initial findings that:
Additional Resources: