The intertwined nature of sense of place and recovery from environmental disaster displacement in the East Troublesome Fire, Colorado.

Keywords: sense of place, fires, displacement, disaster recovery, social capital
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 71

Abstract

Research and policy have slowly been turning their attention towards the importance of a sense of place in disasters and environmental change. Emerging work investigates the ways in which sense of place is present in the process of planning for a disaster, yet still insufficient research looks to the role of sense of place in disaster recovery. This paper explores the intertwined nature of sense of place and disaster recovery for those displaced by the East Troublesome fire in Colorado in 2020. Findings from 26 interviews show that for the residents of Grand County, sense of place was critical in shaping recovery and in turn was also shaped by the recovery process. This occurred in a number of ways; sense of place shaped recovery through the utilisation of a solid foundation of social capital, the ties people felt to the natural world, the acceptance of “the naturalness” of fire and through the materiality of place, engaging with physical “things”. In turn, the recovery process shaped the sense of place that people now feel through the shared trauma experiences and renewed community cohesion. The findings pose a number of questions for further discussion. The final section discusses sense of place in the context of transformative resilience, questioning how such work could be used to support future displaced populations. The paper then explores sense of place in the context of human-nature relationships in the ever-changing world of the Anthropocene.