Vulnerability in the Avalanche Capital: The Human Dimensions of Avalanche and Landslide Hazard in Juneau, Alaska
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Date
2024-08-07
Authors
Provant, Zachary
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In the United States, climate disasters kill thousands of people and cost billions of dollars each year. In 2023, the United States experienced 28 environmental disasters that cost more than one billion dollars each—the most ever in a single year—highlighting the accelerating convergence of climate change and hazard zone development. The cryosphere faces some of the most amplified climatic changes, yet snow hazards continue to receive little attention from social scientists. This dissertation therefore examines snow hazards from avalanches and landslides in downtown Juneau, Alaska, one of the most exposed cities in the country.
Using mixed qualitative methods—including interviews, participant observation, document and media analysis, and geospatial analysis—this dissertation draws on Juneau as a case study to advance the existing research on vulnerability in hazard zones. To contribute to vulnerability and unnatural disasters literature, chapters two through four examine the actors, sites, and moments that produce vulnerability and offer three key findings. Chapter 2, “Hazard Zone Conflicts in the Avalanche Capital,” argues that political, economic, and legal conflicts create windows of opportunity for powerful actors to influence the trajectory of hazard management. Chapter 3, “Housing Justice in a Hazard Zone,” argues that not only inequitable city planning and development initiatives create unnatural disasters, but also the process of hazard mitigation itself. Hazard mitigation strategies, such as the 2018-2023 hazard zone mapping project, disproportionately distribute new risks throughout the community. Chapter 4, “Shifting Climate Hazards and the Inertia of Disasters,” argues that the momentum of powerful societal forces, such as longstanding avalanche research programs and public unfamiliarity with landslides, obstructs Juneau’s ability to adapt to climate change and the increasing landslide hazard.
While the details in each chapter are contextual and place-based, the broader findings offered in this dissertation are relevant for hazard zones around the world. This dissertation recommends: 1) scientists proactively integrate research on local social dynamics into their hazard and risk studies; and 2) decision-makers prioritize greater equity in the hazard mitigation and climate adaptation process.
This dissertation includes previously published coauthored material.
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Keywords
avalanche, climate, hazard, landslide, risk, vulnerability