Attitudes and Trust in Leveraging Integrated Sociotechnical Systems for Enhancing Community Adaptive Capacity
Attitudes and Trust in Leveraging Integrated Sociotechnical Systems for Enhancing Community Adaptive Capacity – Phase II
Co-Principal Investigator: Daniel Abramson, Associate Professor, Department of Urban Design and Planning
Project Budget (Federal UTC Funds): $100,947
Project Budget (Cost-share): $50,473
Institution: University of Washington
Abstract
The project described in this report explores relationships between social attitudes and community-scale disaster preparedness. Specifically, we are interested in respondents’ knowledge of local resources and their willingness to share their own resources with others. We report on data gathered from a pilot sample survey focused on community resilience in an earthquake scenario that was implemented in a Seattle, WA neighborhood. We find that respondents’ willingness to share resources also depends upon the nature of their social ties to those in need. We look specifically at access to health care services via different modes of transportation to better understand how people’s means of seeking health care might change in a disaster scenario. Findings relevant to transportation planning include general uncertainty among respondents about what transportation options might be available in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake, and few respondents were prepared with alternative transportation options. This information could be used by municipalities and transit agencies to help inform community outreach and education efforts relevant to disaster planning. We seek to implement the survey more broadly across the Pacific Northwest in order to help inform resource matching for disaster preparedness at a range of scales.