Natural Disasters as a Catalyst for Social Capital: A Study of the 500-Year Flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

by Kevin F. Adler

Overview

Natural Disasters as a Catalyst for Social Capital examines the vastly under-explored link between natural disasters and social capital in regards to the unprecedented June 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In-depth qualitative interviews with flood victims and key informants in Cedar Rapids reveal that a resident’s perception of social capital after a natural disaster is shaped by their vulnerabilities and social mobility, which vary substantially and need to be understood contextually. This book, in highlighting the enormous impact of one disaster in a mid-sized Midwestern city, offers a framework for a new theory for why social capital shifts in societies from one generation to another: the transformative impact of shared traumas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761864660
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	04/03/2015
Pages:	108
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Kevin F. Adler is an entrepreneur and sociologist who creates ventures that use technology to engage and transform communities.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

PART I
Chapter 1: Introduction
Why Study Disasters?
Why Study Social Capital?
Intersecting Two Research Canons
The Cedar Rapids Flood of 2008
Overview

Chapter 2: Natural Disasters
What Is a Natural Disaster?

Chapter 3: Social Capital
What Is Social Capital?
The Structural and Cultural Aspects
Is it a Private or Public Good?

Chapter 4: An Analogy
Social Capital as the Commons

PART II
Chapter 5: The Flood
A Perfect Storm
A Perfect Response?
An Imperfect Recovery
The Community Responds

Chapter 6: The Community
Social Capital Before the Flood
Social Capital After the Flood
Four Outlooks, Two Themes
Strengthened Community: We Are All in the Same Boat Together
Strengthened Community: Reevaluations Will Lead to Social Progress
Weakened Community: Neighborhoods Were Decimated
Weakened Community: New Rifts Emerged

PART III
Chapter 7: Two Cities?

Chapter 8: One Framework
Background Characteristics
Structural Aspects of Social Capital
Cultural Aspects of Social Capital
The Current, Contextually-Specific Situation

Chapter 9: Conclusion

Appendix I: Research Design
Appendix II: Maps
References