Leveraging Disaster: Promoting Social Justice and Holistic Recovery through Policy Advocacy after Hurricane Katrina
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: After disasters, the recovery process is uneven, and often, the social vulnerability of populations before a disaster translates into a lack of access to political power after the event. This study proposes that a large-scale event presents an opportunity to overcome these challenges and improve social, economic, political, and environmental conditions for affected communities during the recovery process by involving advocates for traditionally marginalized community members in the recovery. Using textual analysis to code the testimony of 240 witnesses who testified in 41 congressional hearings held after Hurricane Katrina, witnesses who advocated for policies that addressed social inequities are identified and their proposals analyzed. Advocacy groups were well represented, comprising nearly 27 percent of the total witnesses at the congressional hearings, and addressed race, class, poverty, and the environment in recovery proposals. The proposals reflected a holistic recovery approach, incorporating ideas of sustainability, resilience, and considerations of social equity.
Author: Tanya Buhler Corbin
Institution: Texas Southern University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2993663353