The role of communities in post-disaster recovery planning: A Diamond Harbour case study

Abstract

Though there is strong agreement in the literature that community participation in disaster recovery is crucial, there is a lack of consensus over what might constitute a model of disaster recovery ‘best practice’ of community engagement. This paper contributes to an enhanced understanding of community engagement in disaster recovery by, first, drawing on 'peacetime' participation literature and secondly, illustrating a case study of post-disaster community-led planning in Diamond Harbour. We argue that roles for community groups vary, but that some communities would rather have influence than decision-making ability, and that this influence can take a number of forms. Though peacetime participation typologies are useful, we suggest that there may be value in combining development studies with scholarship around disaster recovery to account for the suspension of formal modes of participation that often accompanies disasters.