Hurricanes and wildfires: generic characteristics of community adaptive capacity

Abstract

This paper explores the question: to what extent is human community adaptive capacity generic versus hazard-specific? To what extent does having adaptive capacity for one type of disturbance indicate that communities also have adaptive capacity for other types of disturbance that they currently or may someday face? We did in-depth case studies in two Lee County, Florida communities to explore the extent to which residents have adaptive capacity for both hurricanes and wildfires. Although wildfire risk has significantly less salience than hurricane risk for participants, our results suggest that case study communities have built generic elements of adaptive capacity that are generalizable to address both disturbances: (1) interactional and organizational capacities; (2) professional knowledge and extra-local networks; and (3) local knowledge, resources, and skills. We conclude by offering examples of what an ‘all-hazard’ community might look like based on the development of generic adaptive capacity.

Keywords:

• adaptation
• community
• hurricanes
• wildfire
• risk

Notes

1 ‘Pre-platted land is the land described by lots and blocks, and is also sometimes described as “platted lands”, “obsolete subdivisions”, or “antiquated subdivisions”’ (Evalueserve, 2008, p. 51). Pre-platted subdivisions developed in the period from 1920s to mid-1970s and differ in many ways from modern subdivisions. For example, where modern subdivisions are required to contribute as much as 75% of sales revenues to property taxes, provide the majority of infrastructure to meet the development's needs, and are relatively compact and proximate commercial centers, pre-platted subdivisions contributed as much as 50% of profits to sales force salaries and marketing, provided minimal infrastructure in a small, core area and possibly no infrastructure in the rest of the development, and often were very large (up to 100,000 acres) with poor access to commercial areas (Collier County, 2012).