@article{beckham_cutts_rivers iii_dello_bray_villa_2023, title={BRIDGE Builders - Leadership and social capital in disaster recovery governance}, volume={96}, ISSN={["2212-4209"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103942}, abstractNote={Rural disaster recovery governance focuses on the actions that governments take to address the immediate economic, environmental, and infrastructure needs of communities, but does not consider the structural limitations of rural communities, or the transformational power of community leadership. Applying knowledge of community leadership, governance, and social capital in a rural community where social relationships and local-level leadership are central to external interactions provides space to understand the challenges, opportunities, and limitations of disaster recovery governance and leadership systems. To do this, we conduct a secondary thematic analysis of 30 interviews of 32 disaster recovery leaders in Robeson County, NC (USA) following the compound disasters of hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). Participants describe a recovery landscape that relies on Community Organizers - non-titular rural community members who emerge in response to communities' immediate recovery and resource needs. Social capital acts as a resource for Community Organizers as they work to fill the relational and recognition barriers presented by isolation from overextended rural governments. Community Organizers utilize linking and bridging social capital between Decision-Makers and communities to influence transformational change that engenders trans-scaler social capital to create successful recovery outcomes that adequately represent the needs, values, and norms of rural communities. Community-level leaders can serve as a bridge between communities and Decision-Makers, generating effective outcomes that foster collaboration and reciprocity for the next storm.}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION}, author={Beckham, Tira L. and Cutts, Bethany B. and Rivers III, Louie Rivers and Dello, Kathie and Bray, Laura A. and Villa, Olivia}, year={2023}, month={Oct} }
 @article{richmond-bryant_odera_subra_vallee_rivers_kelley_cramer_wilson_tran_beckham_et al._2023, title={Oral histories document community mobilisation to participate in decision-making regarding a hazardous waste thermal treatment facility}, volume={8}, ISSN={["1469-6711"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2249498}, DOI={10.1080/13549839.2023.2249498}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT Colfax, Louisiana hosts a commercial hazardous waste thermal treatment (TT) facility, which treats fireworks, explosives, and military ordnances by open-burn/open-detonation one mile from the edge of the nearest community. Seventy-one percent of Colfax’s residents are Black, and forty-six percent live below poverty, indicating the community’s structural vulnerability. This community-based study originated at the behest of Colfax community members. We hypothesised that the close relationships among members of this enclave may have enhanced the community’s ability to mobilise in opposition to the TT facility. We conducted semi-structured oral history interviews with nineteen community members and examined the social and interorganisational networks used by the Colfax community to claim its role in decision-making regarding the TT facility after years of exclusion from this process. Interview transcripts were analysed through the lens of community capacity theory to gain insight into how interactions among community members about the environmental hazards led to social mobilisation and improved participation in the decision-making process using codes for communication, organisation, and outcome. Additionally, we reviewed Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality records for complaints about the facility to gauge public participation. One notable theme across several interviews was exclusion from the initial decision-making process related to the facility. However, interviewees noted a sustained effort was made among community members to educate themselves about the facility, organise a response through neighbour-to-neighbour contact, and take action by submitting formal complaints and participating in public hearings. Through the lens of environmental justice, this study illustrates an evolving condition of procedural justice.}, journal={LOCAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Richmond-Bryant, Jennifer and Odera, M. and Subra, W. and Vallee, B. and Rivers, L. and Kelley, B. and Cramer, J. A. and Wilson, A. and Tran, J. and Beckham, T. and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Aug} }