Disability and Disaster Recovery: A Tale of Two Cities?

A Tale of Two Cities: Variations in Perceptions of Disaster Recovery and the Importance of Intersectionality

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity ◽

10.1177/2332649217702659 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 522-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ashleigh E. McKinzie

Keyword(s):

Social Class ◽

Disaster Recovery ◽

Social Groups ◽

People Of Color ◽

Archival Data ◽

Gender And Race ◽

Two Cities ◽

Leveling Effect

In this article, the author examines long-term recovery from disaster in Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Tornados devastated both cities in 2011. The author asks (1) how sociohistoric contexts influenced perceptions of recovery and (2) how perceptions of recovery vary within and across social groups and geographic contexts. This research is based on fieldwork that spans 2013 to 2016, archival data, and 162 interviews. There are three main findings. First, although most White residents in both cities narrate a lasting leveling effect, people of color in both locations repudiate that claim. Second, White residents in Joplin explain their recovery in colorblind racist ways, while Tuscaloosa residents do not. Third, the author shows the ways in which social class intersects with gender and race to produce particular perspectives.

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Two Cities and Two Rivers

10.17077/9xk1-v21q ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Nancy E Kraft

Keyword(s):

Disaster Recovery ◽

University Of Iowa ◽

Johnson County ◽

Political Clout ◽

The Press ◽

Two Cities ◽

Flooding Events ◽

The University ◽

The City ◽

Cedar Rapids

This chapter recounts the collaborative response of four cultural heritage institutions located in two cities flooded by two different rivers – the Iowa River, which divides the University of Iowa and the Cedar River, which runs through the city of Cedar Rapids. The author sets the stage by providing extracts from a blog written at the time of the flooding events and reflects on the differences between the floods and the responses. She details the way in which four institutions— the University of Iowa Libraries, the Johnson County Historical Society, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, and the African American Museum of Iowa—collaborated to share political clout, supplies, disaster recovery services, and expertise. Inter-institutional cooperation minimized damage to collections and reduced the time needed to become operational again. The chapter concludes with observations on managing disasters, salvaging collections, working with a conservation lab and disaster recovery company, managing volunteers and the press, and maintaining continuity of operation.

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