Elyse Zavar

Through a study of Ra Province (northeast Viti Levu Island, Fiji) involving both archival research and community engagement, we highlighted a long history of Indigenous population mobility. Many coastal settlements have mostly undocumented histories of relocating inland due to shoreline retreat and land loss over recent decades. Studies of Navutulevu and Vunitogoloa use oral histories and nineteenth-century accounts to show this. More recent autonomous relocations, identified through field surveys in Madhuvani and Navuniivi, are regarded as ‘invisible’ because such major adaptation responses are not usually included in most formal or published reviews of community relocation in the Pacific. Based on our results and a broader understanding of societal evolution in the Pacific Islands region, we concluded that population mobility and settlement relocation have historically been common on (comparatively small and remote) oceanic islands, often in response to changing environmental conditions. Therefore, the possibility of future relocation might seem less intimidating for many coastal residents because of this history. The idea that future relocation is rare and therefore requires extensive funding and policy support, rooted in post-globalization norms, is inaccurate. In reality, it could undermine the resilience of Pacific Island communities by dismissing their histories of autonomous adaptation.

The U.S. buyout programs relocate households out of hazard-prone areas to mitigate future risk by converting developed land into open space. The open space is managed as a public resource by local government and can offer benefits to the community beyond flood risk reduction, such as ecosystem services, recreational activities, and social interaction. Although federal agencies’ funding buyout programs encourage communities to develop open space into an amenity for residents’ use, there exist minimal guidance, tools, and resources to help land managers identify uses that best meet community needs. Additionally, there remains minimal analysis of how residents use the acquired lands to help guide practitioners. Yet, existing scholarship encourages community engagement to identify postbuyout open space management needs and the use of empirical evidence to support land management decisions. To help meet these goals, we use the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC), to examine patterns of open space use, activity levels, and user demographics across five target areas within a buyout area along with Rush Creek in Arlington, Texas. Over a two-week period, we conducted 196 nonparticipant observations documenting patterns in recreation, time of use, and user characteristics. We found areas of the buyout with minimal or hidden amenities were underused, while areas with active recreational amenities, such as paved trails, dog parks, and playgrounds, had higher and more diverse use patterns. We also found that some groups, including Black and Asian residents, were underrepresented relative to nearby neighborhood demographics. These findings suggest that land managers can use the SOPARC method to identify where and what types of amenities to provide, guide outreach efforts to underrepresented groups, and prioritize ecological restoration in underused areas. This case study demonstrates the potential for extending the SOPARC method beyond parks and recreation studies to inform postbuyout open space management decisions.

With increasing development in floodplains and growing flooding losses, governments are looking for ways to permanently reduce flood exposure. Buyouts, property acquisition programs that relocate households out of hazardous locations, are an increasingly popular measure proposed in the wake of disasters to reduce future losses and jumpstart household recovery. Research to date, however, has shown that buyouts are much more than just relocating a structure: these are complex interventions that often take longer than expected to implement and have lasting consequences for participating households and communities. Here, we propose that buyouts, as a policy tool, have been miscast as a mitigation measure typically applied during disaster recovery. We propose a reconceptualization of buyouts as a tool for managed retreat: defining buyouts solely as a mitigation measure, not as a tool for enabling recovery, and acknowledging the sacrifice that relocating requires. This shift would lay the groundwork for more inclusive, effective, and equitable relocation of at-risk households and communities.

U.S. government agencies execute home relocation programs, known as buyouts, in flood-prone areas to reduce hazard exposure. By converting the buyout properties into open space, these governmental agencies assume ownership and management responsibilities. As with all landscapes, the post-buyout landscape reflects power dynamics and institutional forces that shape how the land is managed, perceived, and used. For acquired properties, historic housing polices, disaster risk reduction strategies, and the social construction of the land have all accumulated over time on the post-buyout landscape and influence contemporary land management practices. To understand the influence of power and social capital on post-buyout land management, this study analyzes land management practices and compares them with the socioeconomic characteristics of buyout neighborhoods in Harris County, Texas, USA, a county with a fifty-year buyout history. Results indicate that homeownership status, race, and ethnicity were related to post-buyout land management to varying degrees, thus reflecting differing degrees of social capital in buyout neighborhoods and therefore power to shape the management of post-buyout open space.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, heritage sites, which protect natural and cultural resources, experienced the dauting task of sustaining business operations during the pandemic while serving the public by preserving and conserving resources. These businesses undertook risk reduction measures, conceptualized as adjustments, to mitigate the spread of disease while maintaining business operations. By engaging with Gilbert White’s (1942) Adjustment Theory, this study examines the adjustments made by Texas heritage sites in response to emerging risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we analyze adjustments made to reduce risk to visitors, financial stability, and programmatic offerings; explore the extent to which these adjustments facilitated sustainability, business expansion, and innovation; and identify what factors contributed to or hindered their recovery. This mixed-methods study employed an online survey and a follow-up semi-structured phone interview with heritage site managers. Our findings indicate Texas heritage sites implemented a range of fiscal and health related adjustments in response to the pandemic. Specific to fiscal adjustments, we found changes in visitors led to adjustments in business operations which also facilitated revenue generation for these entities. We also observed how new opportunities arose from the health adjustments in the form of remote offerings and new markets. Our findings emphasize the importance of adjustments made by heritage sites to continue their operations during the pandemic while also offering strategies to mitigate future risks.

As climate change continues to exacerbate hazard losses across the USA, many communities are seeking to permanently reduce their hazard exposure by relocating households out of high-risk areas. In the USA, governments have traditionally relocated households using two mechanisms: buyout programs and eminent domain. Although both programs acquire private properties for public ownership and use, buyout programs are defined as voluntary by government entities, whereas eminent domain is compulsory. For decades, Harris County, Texas, has used both voluntary buyouts and eminent domain to relocate households out of flood-prone areas for different uses; buyouts produce open space, whereas eminent domain is used for flood risk reduction projects Although the literature on buyouts continues to grow, especially related to managed retreat, little research considers mandated relocation in response to hazard in the USA despite the increasing potential and calls for mandated relocations due to sea level rise and other climate-induced hazards. To address this gap in the literature, we analyze county records spanning approximately 100 years to examine the geographic patterns related to Harris County’s use of eminent domain and buyouts programs to mitigate flood hazards. Integrating these records into a Geographic Information System, this novel study is the first to compare these two programs and consider the implications for future managed retreat.