This research is intended to provide a detailed case study of the social processes involved in community and household recovery from the October 1987 earthquake in Southern California. The research is longitudinal in design and will obtain data at two points, 20 and 30 months post- impact. In addition reconstruction issues and actions will be monitored continuously for the duration of the project. The project has 5 major objectives: (l) To provide a description and analysis of the recovery process for both community and households. (2) To analyze the interrelationships among agencies and organizations involved in the reconstruction process. (3) To examine recovery issues and actions at the household level through a longitudinal survey of heavily damaged households, including aid and insurance utilization. (4) To describe and analyze the reconstruction process in Whittier in terms of political processes involved in promoting recovery and mitigation plans, with a particular focus on interest groups and emergent organizations. (5) To provide a set of policy recommendations based on the project's findings and to summarize in a monograph all recent research on the Whittier earthquake. Data will be gathered using detailed surveys of households, interviews with agency personnel, political leaders, citizens groups and other community influentials. Interview data will be supplemented with reports, records and other documentary materials.
