Assigning Blame: How Local Narratives Shape Community Responses to Extreme Flooding Events in Detroit, Michigan and Waterbury, Vermont

ABSTRACT

Different interest groups lobby for decisions about resources that align with their “heritage narratives,” or selective representations of a community’s history. There is limited understanding of how heritage narratives mediate local dialogue about climate resiliency. We conducted in-depth interviews with residents of varying socioeconomic status, race, length of residence, and climate change beliefs in two localities impacted by severe flooding. Heritage narratives influenced perspectives of some residents in Detroit, Michigan (n = 20) and Waterbury, Vermont (n = 15) regarding causes of recent record-setting floods, and appropriate solutions to mitigate future flooding. Some agreement on solutions emerged, with notable exceptions. Those who blamed government mismanagement desired specific government actions, while those who blamed climate change emphasized emissions reductions. In Waterbury, income affected residents’ feelings of disconnection and associated communication needs. In Detroit, race influenced perspectives in key ways. Implications for ways to improve environmental justice of climate change mitigation policies and dialogue are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• flooding
• narratives
• vulnerable populations
• environmental justice
• extreme storms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Christine Carmichael http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9365-8156

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont.