Background Resilience is generally as a system’s ability “absorb impacts and cope with an event,” in a way that maintains community function (Cutter et. al. 2008, p. 599). In the end, the community would be better prepared for future events due to the social learning process that would take place after a disaster (Adger 2000, […]
Who’s disaster?: Vulnerable populations in Fukushima prefecture’s resilience to the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant meltdown
Background Disaster resilience refers to the ability of an individual or system to “absorb disturbance and reorganize into a functioning system” (Cutter et. al. 2008, p. 599), and most definitions include the capacity for social learning to better prepare responses to future disaster. The capabilities that determine such post-disaster function usually include the pre-existing conditions […]
Adapting to the Unadaptable: the resilience of Fukushima prefecture to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake
Background Resilience is a broad and multidimensional concept that can be applied in a number of contexts, from mental health to infrastructure. In regards to disaster resilience, the word is most generally used to refer to a community’s ability to experience disaster events, and then reorganize in a way that maintains community function (Cutter et. […]
Festival of Scholars from Afar
While I could not make it to the Festival of Scholars ENVS poster presentation, I have had the opportunity to peruse senior capstone DS sites. While doing so I found Kara Scherer’s site and her capstone on community disaster resiliency titled “Love Thy Neighbor (Or Know Them, at Least).” Kara’s work is very similar to […]
Willapa Bay: wicked problems and the case of the burrowing shrimp
The challenges that the Willapa Bay community faces are numerous and difficult, affecting most parts of the bay in different ways. Stakeholders range from oyster companies to bay residents, from Seattle chefs to immigrant workers, from scientists to bird-watchers. Each party has a different agenda and different values to consider, but each has the same […]
Situating Disaster: 2011 Tohoku Triple Disaster
A few weeks ago I wrote these two sets of questions as possible thesis research: Framing Question: Is nuclear power a resilient power source? Focus Question: Is it possible for Japanese communities surrounding nuclear power plants to be resilient? How can disaster resiliency be applied to daily life? Framing Question: Is nuclear power a resilient power […]