MANAGED RETREATDisaster Recovery: What Community-Driven Relocation Could Look Like

Over the past forty years, the Gulf Region has experienced devastating hurricanes and flooding, costing 232 billion dollars. Beyond the economic costs, the threat of disasters, the disasters themselves, and the recovery process takes their toll on the mental health and well-being of the people and the communities impacted. The gut reaction after any disaster is to rebuild and protect-in-place, but sometimes communities have to consider relocation. Since 2018, disasters have doubled every year in the U.S., but the conversations around rebuilding versus relocation continue to be challenging for policymakers and the communities impacted by disasters.

At the latest session of Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action, a webinar series presented by the National Academies, experts discussed the complex issues around “community driven relocation.” This conversation stemmed from a report the National Academies released in January, titled Community-Driven Relocation: Recommendations for the Gulf Coast Region and Beyond. Panelists focused on why we need to start having these uncomfortable conversations around relocation, why it’s critical that individuals and communities have an active seat at the table, and how the health and well-being of people should be at the center of future policy.

“There’s a saying that the system is perfectly designed for the outcomes it’s getting,” said Perry Sheffield, a pediatric environmental health practitioner and panelist at the webinar.

Currently, disaster recovery tends to be reactionary and have a top-down approach—which is implied in the term “managed retreat” — a term often applied to climate-induced relocation. A top-down approach often neglects the well-being and mental health of children and adults who have to navigate the devastating impacts of a disaster on their lives and community. Rather than “managed retreat,” a “community-driven” approach to relocation contrasts with the largely ad hoc post-disaster approach to mitigation and adaptation. Through its engagement work with local Gulf Coast communities during the study process, the study committee heard that the term “managed retreat” is also associated with violent relocations throughout history, such as the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Trail of Tears. “Community-driven relocation” is intended to convey the equitable and effective involvement of the affected communities at every stage of the relocation process, including communities receiving an influx of new residents.  

The panelists focused on the need for communities to give input and help design what their recovery looks like, with well-being, including physical, social, and mental health, taken into account in this difficult process. Families have to consider where to re-establish stability and a routine for their children as well as where not only physical but social infrastructure will be available so they can re-build their lives. This includes issues such as social capital and collective efficacy, “…unseen networks… that really make things happen, like the social networks,” said Sheffield. “[It’s] critical to think about how we maintain those networks.”

And it’s not just one community that needs to have agency in this decision-making process, but conversations must also include the community who would be receiving the influx of people. “Having an influx of a population could, under the right circumstances, be an incredible opportunity for some communities,” said Janice Barnes, founder of Climate Adaptation Partners, and a co-chair of the committee that wrote the recent National Academies report. Barnes pointed out that it’s an opportunity to re-think our city planning, improving the livability of existing communities while also addressing the impacts of climate change.

These tough conversations should be integrated into federal, state and local policy around disaster recovery, so that policymakers and communities can both implement solutions that make recovery and potential relocation a more inclusive, effective, and equitable process.

The Climate Conversations panel was moderated by Halle Parker who covers climate and environmental issues for New Orleans Public radio and the Sea Change podcast. The panelists discussed steps individuals can take, such as considering potential disasters in local communities, from hurricanes and flooding to extreme heat and wildfires, and how to approach proactive and community-centered conversations.

Closing out the session, Barnes reminded audience members, “This is just about us and how we live on this big blue ball. When we think about how we are choosing to live and designing… the way that we want to live in the future, we have to be part of the conversation.”
Watch the full webinar here.