Barriers to Postdisaster Housing Reconstruction: Issues of Place and Power Mismatch
Abstract
Puerto Rico has a long and complicated history with the US, and although the archipelago is no longer a colony, the colonial relationship remains embedded in US–Puerto Rico relations. In the disaster context, this historical legacy manifests as mismatches in power and place between where recovery is planned and policies are created (the federal US) and where disaster is experienced and recovery is carried out (Puerto Rico). This research investigated how these mismatches have affected housing reconstruction in Puerto Rico since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, with a particular focus on local actors, US-affiliated nonlocal agencies, and global-scale actors. Using semistructured interviews with representatives from Puerto Rico–based reconstruction organizations with extensive knowledge of housing reconstruction, this study investigated how place and power mismatches have created barriers to the housing reconstruction process in Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our findings reimagine an existing mismatch framework (spatial, temporal, functional, knowledge, and norms) through the lenses of power and place. In doing so, we demonstrate that power and place are more than descriptive features of disaster recovery, but are dynamic dimensions that require alignment among all involved actors to achieve desirable recovery outcomes. The paper ends with a discussion of key strategies for facilitating the integration of multiple-scale actors along the dimensions of power and place.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including participant interviews and analysis.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the United States Agency for International Development Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and the Habitat for Humanity International Graduate Student Fellowship for Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance, or of Habitat for Humanity International. The authors thank Carlos Santos for his assistance with data collection and translation.
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Natural Hazards Review
Volume 24 • Issue 2 • May 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Sep 28, 2021
Accepted: Jan 6, 2023
Published online: Feb 28, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jul 28, 2023
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