The overarching goal of this research is to explore the relationship of economic vulnerability, resilience, and recovery in selected communities of the three coastal counties of Mississippi (Harrison, Hancock and Jackson). This project will compare vulnerability and resilience of these communities at finer scales of analysis (i.e. parcel and household level) than has been accomplished in past research. This project will: 1) identify factors contributing to spatial and temporal variations in vulnerability and resilience; 2) estimate errors in vulnerability and resilience assessments by comparing their results at different scales of analysis; and 3) identify variables that contribute to the recovery of these communities after disasters.
The results of this analysis will help answer why communities with similar socio-economic compositions and facing identical disasters have different vulnerabilities and recovery rates. The results of this research will directly benefit Gulf Coast communities in their efforts to increase their resilience towards tropical cyclones by providing insight into best and worst practices in mitigation policy. Other benefits of this project include: 1) increasing local participation in decision making regarding tropical cyclones; 2) aiding local policy makers in the design and deployment of effective mitigation and economic development policies; 3) complementing local efforts to increase community resilience; (4) developing game-based educational tools to increase student participation in research; (5) constructing a web-based Spatial Decision Support System that will provide a venue for local participation in decision-making; and (6) disseminating research outcomes through community outreach, conferences, and scientific publications.
