The Contribution of Social Capital and Social Organization to Disaster Recovery

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

PI and Co-PI: Frederick D. Weil, PI, and Troy Blanchard, Co-PI, Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Title: The Contribution of Social Capital and Social Organization to Disaster Recovery. 0753742 Abstract New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina has been an enormous task. Money from government, insurance, and business sources has often been slow in arriving or inadequate to the needs. For many people, the nonprofit sector, especially faith-based and community organizations, and informal social networks have contributed as much or more to their well-being and ability to return and rebuild as have material resources. Building on intellectual traditions that go back to Tocqueville's descriptions of democracy and community, this research draws on recent work on social capital and civic participation to explain how different communities have attempted to recover. The researchers will conduct surveys of Greater New Orleans residents who have, or have not, returned. The surveys will use standard telephone, door-to-door methods, and other methods. The goal is to assess which factors do most to encourage return and rebuilding, help people to cope with stress, and develop community resilience. In particular, the investigators (a) assess the physical damage and recovery of respondents' residences and surrounding neighborhoods, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and (b) survey leaders of the organizations to which respondents belong, asking about their strategies for recovery. By combining these data with our social surveys, the investigators attempt to assess the relative success of different recovery strategies by relating them directly to outcomes in their corresponding communities. The analyses contribute to the theoretical and empirical literature on social capital, social organization, civic engagement, civil society, the role of the nonprofit sector, community studies, and disaster recovery and resilience, as well as make methodological contributions in the areas of innovations in data collection, multi-level and geospatial-social modeling and analysis, and scientific-community interaction and partnership.