Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami remains contested with often conflicting infrastructure rebuilding and social processes that have unfolded in reconstruction strategies. Previous research points to the need to understand the integration of social and infrastructure dimensio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Progress in Disaster Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061724000127 |
| _version_ | 1797248281482362880 |
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| author | Nanako Reza Aaron Opdyke Chiho Ochiai |
| author_facet | Nanako Reza Aaron Opdyke Chiho Ochiai |
| author_sort | Nanako Reza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami remains contested with often conflicting infrastructure rebuilding and social processes that have unfolded in reconstruction strategies. Previous research points to the need to understand the integration of social and infrastructure dimensions of recovery to inform better planning processes. While place-based approaches have long been central to understanding disasters, there is comparatively less knowledge about the processes of how sense of place is established, or lost, in recovery after being disrupted following a disaster. Using the case of Kesennuma in the prefecture of Miyagi, we examined how these socio-technical processes unfolded. We draw on case study methods, including interviews and focus groups with residents and leaders of jichikai – neighbourhood associations of relocated communities – to understand how infrastructure reconstruction impacted sense of place. We found that infrastructure was a foundation for people's connections that construct sense of place across three scales – the individual, community, and city. To rebuilt sense of place, physical infrastructure needed to consider people's routine, community ties, and city identity after a disaster and it was the role of infrastructure across these scales that determined how disrupted sense of place could be re-established or continue to be disrupted through reconstruction. This work ultimately contributes to understanding how infrastructure can enable recovery and reduce disaster risk by creating more vibrant places within communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:12:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7c626841ce42444f87765020c762b953 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-0617 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:12:06Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Progress in Disaster Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-7c626841ce42444f87765020c762b9532024-03-23T06:25:46ZengElsevierProgress in Disaster Science2590-06172024-04-0122100322Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and TsunamiNanako Reza0Aaron Opdyke1Chiho Ochiai2School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaSchool of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Corresponding author.Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, JapanRecovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami remains contested with often conflicting infrastructure rebuilding and social processes that have unfolded in reconstruction strategies. Previous research points to the need to understand the integration of social and infrastructure dimensions of recovery to inform better planning processes. While place-based approaches have long been central to understanding disasters, there is comparatively less knowledge about the processes of how sense of place is established, or lost, in recovery after being disrupted following a disaster. Using the case of Kesennuma in the prefecture of Miyagi, we examined how these socio-technical processes unfolded. We draw on case study methods, including interviews and focus groups with residents and leaders of jichikai – neighbourhood associations of relocated communities – to understand how infrastructure reconstruction impacted sense of place. We found that infrastructure was a foundation for people's connections that construct sense of place across three scales – the individual, community, and city. To rebuilt sense of place, physical infrastructure needed to consider people's routine, community ties, and city identity after a disaster and it was the role of infrastructure across these scales that determined how disrupted sense of place could be re-established or continue to be disrupted through reconstruction. This work ultimately contributes to understanding how infrastructure can enable recovery and reduce disaster risk by creating more vibrant places within communities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061724000127Japan3.11 disasterRecoverySense of place |
| spellingShingle | Nanako Reza Aaron Opdyke Chiho Ochiai Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Progress in Disaster Science Japan 3.11 disaster Recovery Sense of place |
| title | Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami |
| title_full | Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami |
| title_fullStr | Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami |
| title_short | Disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami |
| title_sort | disrupted sense of place and infrastructure reconstruction after the great east japan earthquake and tsunami |
| topic | Japan 3.11 disaster Recovery Sense of place |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061724000127 |
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