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Disaster Risk Reduction and Creation

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Abstract

This chapter delves more deeply into hazard mitigation and disaster risk reduction, both of which are intended to take place prior to an event but most often do not. Among other topics, this chapter discusses the ways in which policies geared at disaster risk reduction can simply lead to gentrification, as only those who can afford the cost of reduced risk may remain and as state and local governments elect to prioritize economic development above resilience and risk reduction. The chapter also describes the ways in which risk is exacerbated for those who are displaced in the process.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although this chapter does not trace the history of discrimination and injustice back to colonial time, the political economy of vulnerability as it has impacted indigenous populations can be traced back to colonial governments. Colonial governments removed individual agency and community efficacy through the forced limitation of population mobility, imposition of economic systems, and forced settlement patterns (Oliver-Smith 1996).

  2. 2.

    Even when matching requirements are waived, grant recipients are still expected to cover upfront costs and to wait long periods of time for reimbursements.

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Correspondence to Alessandra Jerolleman .

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Jerolleman, A. (2019). Disaster Risk Reduction and Creation. In: Disaster Recovery Through the Lens of Justice. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04795-5_6

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