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- Title
- ASSESSING DISASTER MANAGEMENT EFFECTS ON RECOVERY OUTCOMES IN RURAL POST-DISASTER JAPAN
- Creator
- Ward, Kayleigh
- Date
- 2022
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
As a country frequented by natural disasters, Japan has robust disaster management systems that can be employed quickly to mitigate human, environmental, and economic harm and losses. However, these systems tend to be most effective when handling small-scale localized disasters. In the face of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake which decimated the northeastern communities of the Tohoku region, Japan’s disaster management system collapsed, unable to handle such large scale and widespread...
Show moreAs a country frequented by natural disasters, Japan has robust disaster management systems that can be employed quickly to mitigate human, environmental, and economic harm and losses. However, these systems tend to be most effective when handling small-scale localized disasters. In the face of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake which decimated the northeastern communities of the Tohoku region, Japan’s disaster management system collapsed, unable to handle such large scale and widespread damage. In the ten years since the disaster many rural communities have contended with a variety of social and economic problems, often left unremedied despite on-going government intervention. In this context, this dissertation will explore the complex problems in Minamisanriku, Miyagi—a rural coastal community decimated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. By engaging and collaborating with organizations in this community, I assess the connections between disaster management and post-disaster recovery outcomes through various applications of social capital and power. I first investigate how historical legacies of national government policies influenced recovery outcomes in the Tohoku region and how have these processes influenced economic restructuring and social development in Minamisanriku during reconstruction. Next, I consider how governance structures within Miyagi prefecture influenced the social and economic development of Minamisanriku during reconstruction. Lastly, I look to how disaster management affects the ability of residents to handle locally-identified and in turn, how residents utilize their social capital to driver social and economic recovery. I assess several key ideas on the connections between forms and theories of social capital and how they affect long-term disaster recovery outcomes through the disaster management process. The dissertation is situated to improve our understanding of how social capital affects rural communities’ ability to respond to these troubles and to craft context specific solutions to them. It also offers a variety of policy recommendations about how to improve community-centered recovery within disaster management frameworks.
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- Title
- BEYOND RECOVERY : RURAL TOHOKU LOCAL POLITICS, GOVERNANCE, AND THE EROSION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL DURING RECONSTRUCTION
- Creator
- Ward, Kayleigh
- Date
- 2018
- Collection
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Description
-
In response to the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, the Japanese national government launched a variety of redevelopment projects in the north-east Tohoku region. These projects are managed by the Reconstruction Agency, established to complete reconstruction and revitalization projects. The Agency primarily promotes economic development for the benefit of the overall Japanese economy but ignores localized social problems. These include aging populations, out-migration, and community discohesion....
Show moreIn response to the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, the Japanese national government launched a variety of redevelopment projects in the north-east Tohoku region. These projects are managed by the Reconstruction Agency, established to complete reconstruction and revitalization projects. The Agency primarily promotes economic development for the benefit of the overall Japanese economy but ignores localized social problems. These include aging populations, out-migration, and community discohesion. The Agency’s form of development focuses on housing, roads, railroads, and relocation of residents. The Agency appears to have largely benefitted large firms through grants for industry projects and not local community projects. This study investigates these issues through an analysis of empirical data collected from 2017. This data features key informant interviews (n=15) from 2017 and historical analysis from 2003-2017 of town office documents. This paper utilizes social capital as the conceptual framework for examining a coastal town in Tohoku (Minamisanriku, Miyagi) and the community redevelopment taking place there. This study answers the larger question of how social capital is impacted by government focus on economic redevelopment and how this affects community redevelopment. Findings show an erosion of social capital is likely occurring, with implications for the types of social capital people possess post-disaster, and how they are affected by local politics and governance. These implications demonstrate the importance of promoting social capital in redevelopment planning and including resident participation in post-disaster.
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