The Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) will examine the actual impact of social capital on the speed and quality of early post-disaster housing recovery. This collaborative award is co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering, Americas Program and the long-term goal is to advance scientific knowledge on disaster resilience. The objective of this award is to enhance scientific knowledge concerning the role of social capital, as an important component of resilience, in the early recovery process following the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. To achieve our study objective, we have three specific aims: (1) Document the pre- and post-disaster social capital in three diverse Port-au-Prince communities; (2) Document the housing recovery process in three selected Port-au-Prince communities; and (3) Assess the impact of pre- and post-disaster social capital on the speed and quality of housing recovery in these communities. The selected communities are Pétionville (a high-income area), Delmas (a middle-income area), and Canapé Vert (mainly a squatter area).
The study will involve two waves of data collection (a baseline and a follow up) spaced six months apart in Haiti. In each wave, the project team will conduct in-depth semi-structured interviews of policy makers/practitioners and community leaders, and focus groups with community residents. In addition, a member of the team based in Haiti will conduct participant observation by attending community and public meetings on post-disaster housing recovery. Lastly, the team will review secondary sources, including post-disaster housing recovery plans, newspapers, minutes of public meetings, laws and regulations, published documents. The study will capture time-sensitive and perishable longitudinal data on the recent earthquake in Haiti that will contribute to knowledge on early post-disaster housing recovery, social capital, and resilience.
The project will have the following outcomes. First, the study will enable policy makers to establish long-term recovery policies that take into account each communities unique needs and capabilities rather than developing one size fits all policies to guide recovery interventions. Second, it will help identify the capabilities of selected Port-au-Prince communities. Third, the study will contribute to enhancing education and the research infrastructure at Florida International University, Arkansas State University, Boston University, and the Université d?Etat d?Haiti. Fourth, it will strengthen institutional ties between these universities. Fifth, the study will enhance participation of under-represented groups (e.g., women, Hispanics, Haitians, economically disadvantaged students) in disaster research.
This award is co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering, Americas Program.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT The growing literature on social capital and disasters acknowledges that social capital is not always a public good. Lacking from this literature, however, has been an in-depth examination of the specific role of social capital during post-disaster shelter recovery from the perspectives of those who are directly impacted by the disaster. We addressed this gap in the literature through a case study of shelter recovery processes in three socio-economically diverse communities of Port au Prince, Haiti (PétionVille, Delmas and Canapé Vert), following the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake. This project is significant for several reasons. First, Haitians are a historically understudied population. To our knowledge, this is the first study to shed light on Haitians’ culturally specific definition of social capital. Second, the Haitian earthquake provides a unique context to study social capital and post disaster recovery, in that the capacity of the government to provide post-disaster shelter is limited. Although many international aid agencies implement post-disaster shelter programs in Haiti, shelter needs are much greater, making it even more imperative to understand the capacities of the communities (e.g., in the form of social capital) to house themselves. Third, the existing literature on disasters in Haiti focuses on its people’s vulnerabilities to disasters rather than on their resilience. Yet, Haitians appear to be extremely resilient. This study not only provides a more balanced approach to Haitian’s vulnerabilities in the face of disasters but also enhances knowledge on disaster resilience in general. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS During the project period, we conducted 12 focus groups with the residents of Delmas, Pétion Ville and Canapé Vert (Sample size=47 in the first round and 45 in the second round of focus groups) and 54 in-depth interviews with community leaders and policy makers (Haitian government officials and international aid agency representatives). In addition, we reviewed secondary sources and conducted participant observation for the study. At the conclusion of our study, we held two Town Hall Meetings (attended by 25-30 people each) mainly to present, discuss and corroborate or correct our findings from the previous research stages with the study participants. Based on our abovementioned research activities, our main findings were the following: (1) There is a need to develop a contextual understanding of social capital. Haitians define social capital in a culturally specific manner through a complex terminology (rekonnèt, konfyans, moun pa and pati pri). Together, these terms explain how social capital is created and maintained, how it is embedded in relationships, and how it enhances one’s access to resources through favors. (2) Social capital plays dual roles in post-disaster shelter recovery of the displaced population in Haiti. On the one hand, it provides enhanced access to shelter and shelter-related resources for those with connections. On the other hand, it accentuates inequalities that existed before the earthquake and/or creates new inequalities among the ones who are displaced. In some cases, such inequalities lead to tensions between the have and have nots and contribute to violence and destruction of shelter-related property among the displaced. (3) Deep rooted historical mistrust in government (cognitive components of social capital), exacerbated by exclusion of displaced populations from recovery processes, results in their reluctance to fight for change to solve their shelter/housing problems. Such reluctance also has to do with the fact that displaced populations need to take care of their families’ immediate needs (e.g., shelter, work, food, and education of their children) as well as negotiate issues of faith and spirituality. BROADER IMPACTS Knowledge Related: Our study contributed to advancing knowledge on social capital and housing recovery through six conference presentations. It also contributed to enhancing education and the research infrastructure at participating universities through: (1) creation of a longitudinal dataset on social capital and housing recovery; (2) direct involvement of students (especially under-represented students in disaster research) in research processes; (3) incorporation of insights from the project into the curriculum of three courses; (4) providing training to approximately 25 students on qualitative data analysis software of Atlas.Ti (the program which we used to analyze the data collected for the study) and NVivo. Partnerships and Collaborations Related: The project helped strengthen institutional ties between the participating universities and six research and community-based organizations in Haiti, including the Center for Research and Development, the Haitian Institute of Community Health, Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development Haiti, two local churches and a school. Community Related: Our project allowed for transfer of lessons on community organizing and disaster recovery from Turkey and the U.S. to Haiti and for building links between the community leaders across these countries through the Town Hall meetings. Our project also made the community leaders and members of our selected Port-au-Prince communities more aware of their capacities to shelter themselves.
