Compensation and Community Corrosion: Perceived Inequalities,Social Comparisons,and Competition Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

After disasters, victim compensation programs are typically associated with individual healing and community rebuilding. But postdisaster compensation systems also have the potential to introduce confusion and competition, further fraying the social fabric of communities affected by trauma. To assess the perceived effects of disaster compensation processes on community social relations, as well as the mechanisms that underlie such effects, we turn to the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, after which BP implemented one of the largest compensation systems in U.S. history. Using data from interviews of residents of four Gulf Coast communities, we examine the extent to which this claims process hindered efforts to recover from this disaster. Our data suggest that while BP money helped some residents in the Gulf during a difficult economic time, many interviewees perceived uncertainty, randomness, and unevenness in the compensation process, which led to negative social comparisons and competition among community members. Because of this animosity, we argue that BP's compensation system was a disruptive mechanism that contributed to community corrosion and introduced another source of psychological stress into already‐traumatized areas.     

Wildfire Perception and Community Change

Given increasing political and financial commitments to wildfire preparedness, risk policy demands that risk identification, assessment, and mitigation activities are balanced among diverse resident groups. Essential for this is the understanding of residents' perceptions of wildfire risks. This study compares wildfire‐risk perceptions of Pennsylvania residents with those of Minnesotans living in natural‐amenity‐rich communities. Natural‐amenity‐driven migration shifts land‐use patterns and social conditions, making it important to understand if and how such changes affect residents' perceptions of wildfire. Key informant interviews suggest land use and contrasting values associated with sociodemographic shifts were intertwined with wildfire‐risk awareness, concern, and mitigation. In both study areas, local social interactions were impaired by geospatial and sociocultural barriers related to land use and population change. Barriers included perceived threats to quality of life, conflicting needs for economic development, and homes built in isolated locations. As a result, residents did not agree on community‐wide notions of wildfire risk and response. Further, residents' ideas about the potential for a wildfire disaster did not correspond to those of risk managers. Although some places were attempting to overcome these challenges, many informants said their communities were overwhelmed with the effects of change. Finding common notions of wildfire risk is critical precisely because resident participation is crucial to hazard management. In these localities, rural community development can facilitate capacities to address wildfire risk in the context of landscape and social change.     

Community Connections: Social Capital and Community Success1

This article examines the impact of two types of community social capital—ties between civic organizations formed through shared members and ties between residents formed through socializing in local gathering places—on residents’ subjective appraisals of community success. Community social capital studies tend to focus on the first of these types of ties, networks of civic engagement, while the second, gathering place networks, has received relatively little scholarly attention. Studying both allows me to assess the formal and informal arenas of community sociability, providing a more thorough understanding of social capital and community life. I assess the effects of community‐level social capital networks on the individual‐level experience of residing in the community using survey data on 9,962 residents from 99 small towns in Iowa. This rich data set allows me to avoid two shortcomings common in social capital research: I construct genuine network measures of social capital (rather than infer network structure from community attributes) and conduct multi‐level analyses (rather than rely on disaggregation). My findings indicate both types of social capital are positively and significantly associated with resident ratings of community success, suggesting community networks—in both the formal and informal sectors—have important consequences for small towns and their residents.     

Social capital as collective narratives and post‐disaster community recovery

This paper examines how social capital aids in post‐disaster community recovery and redevelopment. While previous studies on social capital and post‐disaster recovery have tended to focus on social networks as a source of necessary assistance, the primary focus of this study is on how social capital in the form of collective narratives affects post‐disaster recovery. We argue that collective narratives can shape the recovery strategies that individuals adopt. To illustrate this we examine the post‐Katrina recovery efforts in St. Bernard Parish, an area devastated by flooding and significant environmental damage. In particular, we focus on the shared narrative that dominated qualitative interview data collected in St. Bernard, namely, its shared identity as a close‐knit, family‐oriented community comprised of hard workers. This narrative led community members to adopt a strategy that emphasized self‐reliance.     

Covenants of care: The symbols of community support for elders in the all-black towns of Oklahoma

This article explores community covenants of care that benefit older residents in the all-black towns of Oklahoma. Community covenants of care are informal agreements by community residents that favor support of people residing in the community. The covenants are expressions of the social histories of the towns themselves and are intertwined with other social–historical themes, including positive racial identity and racial self-determination, expectations of limited external support, community self-reliance, and special status afforded to elders. There are numerous expressions of community covenants of care within the all-black towns. Although the manifestations of positive community covenants may require considerable time and effort to identify in poor rural minority communities, such as the all-black towns, the experience can lead to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of older residents and their community roles.     

Profiling Participative Residents in Western Communities*

Abstract Differences between old‐timers and newcomers and their effects on community social dimensions have been the object of much research. These studies have shown how extensive in‐migration of people with different socioeconomic backgrounds, values, and perspectives contribute to heightened social conflict in some communities. Popular media accounts and some social science research referred to the conflict emerging from these differences as a culture clash. This study examines the effects that different backgrounds, attitudes, and behaviors have on community participation. Here, earlier work on differences in participation levels between seasonal and permanent residents is extended in an attempt to identify structural and interactional characteristics associated with participative citizens regardless of their residential status. A profile of participative residents was found. Knowing these characteristics helps identify people who could bring important and useful insights to local decision‐making. These residents make a deliberate choice to purposively engage in community efforts. Such voluntary interaction creates a pro‐community environment where needs and solutions are tackled by residents. Additionally, this interactive environment serves as a ground for the reduction of differences among community members. Through this process, community development is achieved, enhancing community well‐being.     

Creating “Community”? Preparing for Bushfire in Rural Victoria

The term “community” has a long and contested lineage in social analysis and debate. This lineage, however, is not generally recognized in policy and public debates on community and bushfire in Australia. “Community” is thought to be central to bushfire preparedness in Australia, especially in rural areas, but what “community” actually means in this context is vague at best. There is an ever‐present tension between the use of “community” as a reference to locality, a “sense of community” as experienced by residents, and the use of “community” as a rhetorical tool by governments and state agencies. We argue that a rigorous analysis of the concept of “community” is critical to an understanding of the processes involved in preparing for the challenges associated with disaster, in this case bushfires. These broader issues are supported by research (a series of surveys, interviews, and focus groups) carried out with residents living in (predominantly rural) bushfire‐prone areas in the state of Victoria, Australia. Ultimately, we assert that social participation and social networks are likely to be the crucial aspects of community that play a central role in effective bushfire preparedness.     

Therapeutic Responses to Communities Affected by Disasters: The Contribution of Family Therapy

This article is underpinned by the premise that for recovery, healing and post‐traumatic growth to occur after traumatic events such as technological and natural disasters, massacres and terrorist attacks, effective therapeutic services need to be offered at both the individual and community level. Frequently, responses to such traumatic instances have been conceptualised as discrete, polarised interventions offered by various groups of health and welfare professionals at various points post the traumatic event. Traditionally when therapeutic interventions are considered, many practitioners assume that the response would, and should, focus primarily and narrowly, on individuals or their families and the symptoms of post‐traumatic stress. Conversely, the perceived role of community wide interventions has been unnecessarily limited to disaster relief or organised emergency responses most usually offered at the time of the crisis. The consequence of these limited understandings is an apparent failure to explore fully the therapeutic or mediating role of social or community support in surviving trauma. Interventions encompassing the level of community might be therapeutic in two fundamental ways. First, if practitioners embraced ideas from systemic family therapy literature, ideas that acknowledge the importance of social networks, this would encourage a more holistic vision of resilience and recovery. Second, if practitioners recognised that whole communities and social networks might also be traumatised, they could provide support and interventions oriented toward healing at this broader level.     

Tuning‐in to Teenagers! Using Radio Phone‐in Discussions in Research with Young People

Since the 1990s, research with children has witnessed epistemological changes which have challenged traditional research methods and have attempted to deconstruct notions of children as passive and incompetent. Such changes, epitomized by children‐centred research methods, aim to redress power imbalances by encouraging participants to select their own forms of communication. Participation and innovation are central to this approach. Simultaneously, but quite distinct from research methodology, community radio has become an important mechanism in promoting social inclusion. Globally, this means of community participation has been advocated by organizations that have utilized radio as an educational tool for promoting children’s rights. This paper suggests that the synthesis of radio phone‐in discussions with the ‘New Social Studies of Childhood’ forms a constructive basis for developing a participatory research method. Methodological issues arising from a teenage‐centred radio phone‐in will be explored. The paper concludes by discussing the viability of the radio phone‐in as a meaningful method for promoting teenagers’, often unheard, voices.     

Gating Union: The Politics of Making a Historically Black Community

ABSTRACT

In 1999, Union was officially recognized as a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places. Although approximately 80 percent of the residents are raced white, Union was identified as a historically black space. The recognition, premised on Union's origins as a town founded by freed slaves in the late nineteenth century, was the culmination of efforts by the Union Community Association. Its members, who are predominantly white, middle class, and newcomers to the area, took on the role of “protecting” their community by gaining official historic recognition, a task that established them as the gatekeepers of history, and black residents as historical artifacts. As Union became established as a historically black community, its social and legal boundaries could act to protect the place against unwanted land developers. While (white) residents took on the role as history's gatekeepers, (black) descendent residents were turned into tangible metonyms for history, authenticating by their presence Union's historic status. Official recognition has allowed the Union Community Association to fence in an oasis of rustic living at the edge of development, while less affluent residents find themselves gated into a stagnant social landscape in which social and economic opportunity has been effectively gated out.     

Building relationships and facilitating immigrant community integration: An evaluation of a Cultural Navigator Program

Despite the long history of immigration in the United States, communities around the country struggle to integrate newcomers into the economic, cultural, and political spheres of society. Utilizing results from the program evaluation of one public library's Cultural Navigator Program, the authors illustrate how communities and public institutions can promote integration and relationship-building between newly arrived immigrants and long-time residents. Existing social networks within receiving communities, conceptualized in this article as social capital, were leveraged to build capacity among newly arrived immigrants and foster inclusivity and integration at the community level. As a place of intervention, public libraries are suggested as a safe and shared space where community integration can be fostered. Insights derived from the evaluation inform a discussion on engaging approaches to immigrant integration. Lessons learned and recommendations for program evaluators and administrators are provided.     

Toward a Social Theory of Resilience: Social Systems,Cultural Systems,and Collective Action in Transitioning Forest‐Based Communities

Impacts from post‐Fordist and poststaples economic transition in the Canadian natural resource sector have resulted in dramatic challenges to the livelihoods of many rural residents and the viability of many rural communities. This study seeks to understand community response to economic transition through a lens of social ecological resilience. This article puts forward Archer's theory of cultural morphogenesis as an analogous model of social ecological change that focuses attention on cultural systems, cultural elaboration, and collective action within an adaptive cycle of resilience. With case material from focused ethnographies of two forest‐dependent communities, we identify distinctive interactions between culture and agency over time that condition community response to change, and we make an analytical distinction between the social system and cultural system. These insights point to catalysts for collective action and adaptation within a resilient cultural realm that extend beyond institutional factors such as economic dependency or political opportunity. By integrating culture, we also deepen the social theory contribution to social‐ecological resilience.     

A SENSE OF PLACE:

One of the classic questions in urban sociology is how social relations and solidarity are maintained in an urbanized, industrialized, bureaucratic society. The two pivotal research focuses have been the issues of (1) the persistence of territorially based affective ties and primary relations in an urban world and (2) the micro/macro links connecting community residents and the larger society. This article argues that social bonds and solidarity are now transformed from affective ties into more diffuse relationships as individuals purposively use the externally shared meanings of housing and community in American society to situate themselves, simultaneously locating themselves with others who share their values and preferences and asserting their social status and social identity to others.     

In Search of a Better Life: The Experiences of Working Poor Immigrants in Vancouver,Canada

We utilized data from 72 in‐depth interviews with immigrant hotel and hospital support workers employed in the service sector of Vancouver, Canada to analyse migration decisions and subsequent experiences after arrival. We found that migrant social networks were centrally important, both as a stimulus for migration and in shaping post‐arrival experiences. At the same time, the working conditions faced by immigrants after arrival, such as low pay and long work hours, resulted in serious challenges. While some struggled with multiple jobs to make ends meet, others felt their economic circumstances prevented them from even bringing their children to Canada. In some cases, children were returned to their country of origin. Features of low‐wage service sector jobs also limited the time available for participation in community life. The findings both support and advance recent theoretical contributions about the incorporation of immigrants in the United States and Canada. As immigrants frequently face occupational downgrading and are channelled into low‐wage service sector jobs, the conditions of work and social policies are important for their post‐arrival experiences and incorporation. Going beyond traditional conceptions of citizenship in the immigration literature, some respondents acted through their union and community organizations to attempt to change society and improve their fortunes. While some sought social justice through political activism, others used their limited family and community life time to reterritorialize values from their countries of origin. Part of their activism was transnational, such as sending remittances to help loved ones back home, but other involvement included participation in organizations with the aim of promoting social justice or improving life in their new country. The experiences of immigrant service sector workers in Vancouver suggest a need for greater emphasis on the role of both immigrant and non‐immigrant specific social and labour policies for understanding immigrant incorporation in North America.     

“There Ain’t No Bond in Town Like There Used to Be”: The Destruction of Social Capital in the West Virginia Coalfields1

There is a paucity of research focusing on the circumstances that cause or contribute to a decline in social capital within communities. Furthermore, relatively few researchers employ qualitative methods in their studies of social capital, despite the multidimensional and many‐layered nature of this concept, characteristics that make social capital well suited for qualitative analysis. To address these two gaps in social capital research, I explore the mechanisms that have led to a depletion of social capital in the southern coal‐producing region of West Virginia. I examine whether the coal industry, which has caused bitter conflicts among residents over environmental degradation and union loyalties, has also undermined social capital in the region. My principal data include 40 semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews with randomly selected individuals in a coal‐mining town and a demographically similar non‐coal‐mining town in West Virginia. I analyze the experiences of residents in each town, assessing the qualitative differences in community and personal life associated with social capital. I find that the loss of social capital in the coal‐mining community has arisen through a combination of depopulation and the community‐wide conflict that arose when an anti‐union coal company bought out the union coal mine at which many in the community worked, challenging the union identity so engrained in this region.     

“Those people” and troubles talk: Social typing and community construction in senior public housing

Community has developed as an increasingly important research topic in gerontology. As we search for the ever elusive sense of community and social integration among the aged, gerontologists have strangely left aside, for the most part, the interactional formation of community as a phenomenon. How do elders actually achieve this thing in their daily lives? By what interactional mechanisms is it constructed? Using data gathered from an ethnography of a senior public housing complex, I argue that in this particular neighborhood, community is accomplished by residents through “troubles talk.” An important component of this shared talk are social types indigenous to the complex. The act of social typing allows the residents to organize, categorize, and classify each other, providing recognizable and commonly held knowledge of each other, a vital component of community.     

A Multidimensional Exploration of the Foundations of Community Attachment among Seasonal and Year‐Round Residents

Utah is a popular second‐home destination because of its unique landscapes offering numerous natural amenities. This research utilized data from a mail survey of residents in six Utah counties and had two objectives: (1) to test a multidimensional conceptualization of community attachment and (2) to determine if the foundations of community attachment, based on those conceptual dimensions, are different for year‐round and seasonal residents. The study utilized structural equation models, which allow the use of latent variables, to complete those objectives. Results revealed that a multidimensional conceptualization of community attachment is appropriate. The conceptual dimensions (social bonds, participation, and sentiments) used in this research all proved to be important elements of the higher order construct “community attachment” for both year‐round and seasonal residents. For year‐round residents, community attachment is best predicted by the social bonds dimension, while for seasonal residents the participation dimension is most important. However, all three of the dimensions of attachment used herein are important among both residence categories, indicating that future research on this topic would be best served by using a multidimensional conceptualization of community attachment.     

Rural Community Satisfaction and Attachment in Mass Consumer Society1

Abstract Previous models of community satisfaction and attachment have not included personal economic attitudes and behaviors as independent variables. Their inclusion is theoretically justified when residents of communities are viewed as consumers in a larger social/economic context first and residents of a particular community second. As locally-oriented economic processes—once part of the community experience—were removed to nonlocal markets, local economic and demographic attributes became less important to rural residents' experience of community. In two rural communities with extreme scores on a service center viability index, satisfaction with employment and location of employment are important predictors.     

Patterns of Neighboring: Practicing Community in the Parochial Realm

This article investigates the practices and functions of neighboring. It is based on interviews and “go‐alongs” with over sixty residents and on ethnographic observation of two middle‐class neighborhoods in Hollywood, California. Building on Lofland's (1998) model of three social realms (the public, the parochial, and the private), I conceptualize neighboring as a set of interactive principles that characterize parochial or communal territories such as neighborhoods. I discuss four distinct patterns in detail: friendly recognition, parochial helpfulness, proactive intervention, and embracing and contesting diversity. While integrating previous research and theorizing on neighboring, the article contributes to the continuing debate in sociology over what constitutes community.     

Community,Ethnicity, and Class in a Changing Rural California Town*

Abstract This study investigates how community is constructed, maintained, and contested among diverse residents of a rural town in California's Central Valley. Drawing on observations, interviews, and archival material, I examine the way in which ethnicity and class play a significant role in recasting how community is organized and interpreted by Mexicans and long‐term white residents. In my field site, Mexicans have long been involved in (in)formal community‐making, yet long‐term white residents perceive a “loss of community” because social relations are no longer structured around an agrarian culture that at one time reinforced ties through volunteerism and interaction in local mainstream institutions. This article demonstrates the continual significance of place and interaction in defining community, but suggests that immigrants develop communities of need aimed at providing important social, emotional, and political support absent in mainstream society. Finally, this study also speaks of the competition for representation and respectability among rural residents developing a sense of belonging. “Community” is never simply the recognition of cultural similarity or social contiguity but a categorical identity that is premised on various forms of exclusion and constructions of otherness