Why do we want to value the environment? Environmental assets provide a flow of goods and services over time which benefit mankind. Valuing these services contributes towards their protection and enhancement, however many of these benefits cannot be valued in traditional markets and as such rely on non-market valuation techniques. One of these is contingent valuation (CV) which directly asks respondents whether they are willing to pay for an improvement in the good or service. This thesis seeks to explore methodological issues associated with this method by undertaking a CV survey to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for a new type of flood defence (managed realignment) on the Tay Estuary, Scotland. One challenge for survey designers is to provide high quality, readily understandable information to mitigate bias in WTP estimates. This thesis contributes to the information provision literature by examining whether prior knowledge or new information has a greater effect on the WTP estimate when controlling for respondent experience and familiarity with the good. A field experiment was designed to test for respondent’s prior knowledge; allow for varying levels of information to be presented to respondents and identify information acquisition for each respondent. Specifically tested was the notion that respondents who learn the most about the good during the survey process will have a more robust WTP estimate. Results were mixed: a causal relationship between information provision and learning was established with respondents in the higher treatment groups scoring higher in the second quiz. However, there was no relationship identified between prior knowledge, information provision and WTP. Personal motivations were the strongest predictors of WTP: those who were most concerned about flood risk and who lived closest to the proposed flood defence were willing to pay the most. A second issue in CV is consequentiality. Carson and Groves (2007) argue that for a survey to produce meaningful information about respondent’s preferences the respondent must view their responses as potentially influencing the supply of the public good. This thesis seeks add to this relatively new literature by exploring the observable factors which may influence respondents perceived consequentiality; specifically the effects of familiarity and information. Respondents were asked to state how confident they were that the results of the survey would be used by policy makers on a Likert scale ranging from “very unconfident” through to “very confident”. Results conformed to the Carson and Groves knife edge result: consequential respondents had significantly different WTP distributions compared to inconsequential and unsure respondents and were willing to pay significantly more towards the scheme. Consequential respondents also conformed the theoretical considerations of construct validity whilst inconsequential respondents did not. Respondents with more prior knowledge also appeared to be more likely to perceive the survey as consequential, although this was not consistent across all treatment groups. There is a concern that WTP and consequentiality are endogenous: respondents who want the policy to go ahead may be more likely to state the survey is consequential and state a high WTP in the hope these responses combined contribute to the policy maker’s decision. From a policy perspective the high level of support for the new scheme was encouraging and in contrast to previous findings on preferences for managed realignment. From a flood risk management perspective a “miss-match” between actual and perceived flood risk was highlighted, with many respondents stating they were not at risk from flooding when they in fact were. This is potentially concerning as respondents may not be taking adequate steps to protect their home from future flood risks. Overall it is recognised that values derived from the CV survey form one small part of the planning process and while informative, the decision for a scheme to take place should not be based on these values alone.

Natural Flood Management (NFM) is promoted as part of sustainable flood management (SFM) in response to climate change adaptation. Stakeholder engagement is central to this approach, and current trends are progressively moving towards a collaborative learning approach where stakeholder participation is perceived as one of the indicators of sustainable development. Within this methodology, participation embraces a diversity of knowledge and values underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, equity, trust and learning. To identify barriers to NFM uptake, there is a need for a new understanding on how stakeholder participation could be enhanced to benefit individual and community resilience within SFM. This is crucial in the light of climate change threats and scientific reliability concerns. In contributing to this new understanding, this research evaluated eight (8) UK NFM case studies towards improving understanding of opportunities in involving communities in catchment-based working. An NFM strategy for participatory planning was developed from literature, findings from the UK studies and refined through a scenario development for a case study application in Taraba state, Nigeria using the constructivist model. Stakeholder and inter-agency collaboration for flood management in Taraba were investigated through interview methodology: 8 governmental agencies and 32 community leaders in Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVA’s) of the state. Findings show some institutional weaknesses, which are seen to inhibit the development of adequate, flood management solution locally with damaging implications for vulnerable communities. The existences of weak institutional structures with poor coordination of the lead agency to effect change are identified as problematic within this context. Findings highlight a dominate top-bottom approach to management with very minimal public interactions. Current approaches are remedial with less emphasis on prevention and mitigation. The targeted approach suggested by the constructivist risk model is set against adaptive flood management and community development. The finding of the study suggests different agencies have different perspectives for “community participation”. It also shows communities in the case study area appear to be least influential, denied a real chance of discussing their situations and influencing the decision. This is against the background that the communities are located in the most productive regions, contributing massively to national food supplies. Stakeholder engagement and resilience planning underpin this research. The study explores dimensions of participation using the self-reliance and self –help approach to develop a methodology that facilitates reflections of currently institutionalised practices and the need to reshape spaces of interactions to enable empowered and meaningful participation. The results are discussed concerning practical implications for addressing interagency partnerships and conducting grassroots collaborations that empower local communities and seek solutions to development challenges.

The current thesis approaches the issue of using social media for the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the recurring flood crisis events. The current status of using and interacting with social media , through studying the literature of the previous facts and results towards using social media by governmental and public representatives have been investigated. Different experiences were found related to countries that are experiencing flood events and their uses of social media. On the other hand it was found that little or no information were presented for the uses of social media for crises events in Bosnia and Herzegovina case. It was found that the reasons for not having current implementation of a solution is related to the complex governmental structure that are present in the Bosnian state government, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brčko District, cantons and regions. Further investigations were initiated to identify the current uses, needs and obstacles towards the use of social media tools and services as a medium for increasing situational awareness and communication in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The considerations of the previous investigation were with respect to governmental complex structure and public needs. The results of the investigation managed to outline the current challenges with respect for each investigated sector. The outputs of the previous investigations have been used as inputs to direct and guide the system design of the proposed new system framework that is aiming for enhancing situational awareness and communication during flood crisis events using social media framework. The system design and functionalities have focused on providing sharing environment for the complex government structure and public needs with a direct focus on not distracting the current used structure and public ethnical segregations. The system framework has been tested and the reflection of governmental attitude and public results has been encouraging towards adopting this framework for future flood events in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

New information and communications technologies, such as mobile phones and social media, have presented the humanitarian community with a dilemma: how should humanitarian organisations integrate information from crisis-affected communities into their decision-making processes whilst guarding against inaccurate information from untrustworthy sources? Advocates of crisis mapping claim that, under certain circumstances, crowdsourcing can increase the accuracy of crisis information. However, whilst previous research has studied the geography of crisis information, the motivations of people who create crisis map mashups, and the motivations of people who crowdsource crisis information, the geography of, and the uncertainty associated with, crowdsourced crisis information has been ignored. As such, the current research is motivated by the desire to explore the geographic uncertainty associated with, and to contribute a better understanding of, crowdsourced crisis information. The current research contributes to the fields of GISc (Geographic Information Science) and crisis informatics; crisis mapping; and geovisualisation specifically and information visualisation more generally. These contributions can be summarised as an approach to, and an understanding of, the geographic uncertainty associated with crowdsourced crisis information; three geovisualisation software prototypes that can be used to identify meaningful patterns in crisis information; and the design, analysis, and evaluation model, which situates the activities associated with designing a software artefact-and using it to undertake analysis-within an evaluative framework. The approach to the geographic uncertainty associated with crowdsourced crisis information synthesised techniques from GISc, geovisualisation, and natural language processing. By following this approach, it was found that location descriptions from the Haiti crisis map did not 'fit' an existing conceptual model, and, consequently, that there is a need for new or enhanced georeferencing methods that attempt to estimate the uncertainty associated with free-text location descriptions from sources of crowdsourced crisis information.

This research takes a social constructivist approach to investigate the relationship between people’s perceptions of disaster risk and their responses in disaster-prone cities of the Global South. This is important because the effects of risk perceptions on the ways that people respond to disaster risk remains unclear and has been labelled ‘weak’ within the disaster studies literature. Furthermore, this lack of clarity has contributed to the marginalisation of people at risk from contributing to interventions that address disaster risk, which this research finds problematic. Therefore, a better understanding of how people perceive their risk and how this shapes their responses would help inform more effective and multi-scalar interventions to address disaster risk. The research takes place in three adjacent neighbourhoods of Cochabamba city, Bolivia. Within this ‘case site’, the house is used as a methodological tool to investigate how people’s risk perceptions shape their responses to disaster risk. In particular, the research explores how risk perceptions influence the way people design and construct self-build houses in order to reduce their risk of a disaster. The focus on housing construction represents a novel way of exploring the relationship between risk perceptions and disaster risk-reduction behaviour. The research takes place in the context of persistent, low-intensity natural hazards that are linked to disaster risk which incrementally increases over time. This marks a shift away from the many studies that investigate rapid-onset, extreme hazards that quickly overwhelm people’s capabilities and which are associated with crisis and urgency. Additionally, the research is concerned with small-scale disasters, which again marks a shift away from the disaster studies literature which principally focuses on large-scale disasters that result in many casualties, large economic loss and which affect a large geographical area. The research ultimately shows that whether a risk perception is high or low is not the most important factor; rather, it is an individual’s awareness and understanding of disaster risk that encourages long-term and anticipatory strategies that require significant investments in the house. Furthermore, the research argues that research which describes the relationship between risk perceptions and responses as ‘weak’ forecloses the nuances and complexity of human behaviour in disaster-prone contexts because it does not capture the subtle yet important ways that risk perceptions shape responses.

Flooding has the potential to have significant impact on the value of properties depending on the level of inherent vulnerability. Experts argue that it is not the actual risk but the perception of risk among property holders that influences vulnerability of value. The hypothesis that changing perception of flood risk could make property value vulnerable in the market is the main focus of the research. This dimension of research has received very low attention in commercial property literature. The existing knowledge base of flooding and property value reveals that focus has been largely associated with residential properties. Conceptual understanding of the extent and scale of the effect of flooding on the vulnerability of property value of commercial properties would be worthwhile for relevant stakeholders. The research methodology follows a quantitative approach with sequential application: of literature review, conceptual model generation, data collection from primary and secondary sources with remote questionnaire survey of selected study areas in the UK. The conceptual model was operationalised using analysis and interpretation of the collected data and finally cross validated with secondary data gained from commercial real estate experts . The strength of this research lies in the conceptualisation of the subject matter of property value in the context of flood vulnerability. This work provides innovative conceptual insight towards business vulnerability and vulnerability of value. The variables contributing towards vulnerability were hierarchically ranked using both collected data and deductive methods. The patterns of impact and recovery analysis emphasized that within the commercial sector indirect effects of flooding should be given equal importance with direct damages. The implication of perception on the vulnerability of property value showed a slightly different picture from business vulnerability in the chosen study areas when differentiated based on flood experience. In a nutshell the study reflected that the commercial property sector does not take flooding as one of their priorities. This is in part due to differential attitude towards risk of the population within the flood plain based on their knowledge and experience of flooding. The perception of stakeholders towards vulnerability of value can change with increasing magnitude and severity of floods and it is possible that the implications on market value of commercial properties will be visible in the future. Practitioners and researchers will find this study useful in developing an understanding of the vulnerability of commercial property value in the context of changing flood risk.

This thesis looks at a variety of stakeholders and how they inform the conversations around disasters and disaster sites. In particular it focuses on the way knowledge frameworks of different actors informs this dialogue and defines the nature of their response. The thesis argues that this has an implication for debates on democracy, governance and citizenship. The thesis looks at four sets of actors: individuals confronting and coping with the everydayness of disasters.; the states of Gujarat and Orissa in India which innovate in the face of disasters to either create a techno-managerial response and institute different methodologies or use the existing structures to embed themselves further and perpetuate the poverty and disaster industry; the Christian and secular humanitarian groups: the former make a transition from charity to rights discourse while intervening in disasters. The latter focus on building methodologies which institute certain norms of responding to disasters and catering to those it considers as more vulnerable when disaster strikes. The thesis finally turns its attention to the response of four Hindu groups who draw on civilizational categories to engage with issues of pain, suffering, healing. Each stakeholder, the thesis argues, in articulating its response to disasters, presents a 'counter model' or at least a complementary understanding of how to think and respond to disasters. This plurality of engagement by questioning the preconceived frameworks adds not just to the democratic imagination but also to the debates on what constitutes governance and citizenship. Methodologically, the thesis is an ethnographic exploration located in two sites in India: Gujarat and Orissa. It keeps storytelling, ethnography, analysis, policy documents together and tries to show that they become a weave in disaster studies.

This thesis examines the role of the public in Flood Risk Management (FRM) service provision at a time when the perceptions of the distribution of benefits provided by FRM interventions are in flux, and the role the public should play in FRM highly contested among stakeholders. Two schemes have marked the revised role of the public in FRM - Partnership Funding and Flood Re - both of which challenge existing judgments of the excludability and rivalry of benefits delivered by FRM interventions. The Partnership Funding scheme allocates capital for FRM projects proportionately to the public benefits they provide, allowing communities to top-up grants through local contributions. In comparison, by increasing accessibility to affordable insurance through cross-subsidies and pricing signals, Flood Re highlights a growing recognition that the distribution of gains as a result of widespread insurance uptake is greater than the benefits received by the policyholder alone. Following the identification of these schemes, we tested their social feasibility, examining both the scale and distribution of benefits. Due to the different stages of implementation of each scheme at the time of writing this thesis, two distinct methods were developed. The Partnership Funding Chapter used field data to examine how public-private funding of flood defences has changed service provision and the public acceptance of this transition. Whereas the Flood Re chapter used computer-based experiments to hypothesize how Flood Re may make the purchase of insurance a more or less attractive investment for different types of consumer. We found that Partnership Funding enabled more FRM projects to go ahead, raised public awareness of flood risk, and improved collaboration between stakeholders, but encouraged lower-cost projects, which, in the longer term, could transfer the expense of managing residual risk to the householder. In comparison, Flood Re provided peace of mind to householders struggling to afford rises in insurance premiums, but disproportionately benefited those who annually purchased insurance. Combining this proposed inequity in Flood Re with increasing residual risks, we identify a gap in service provision for the public who cannot afford household mitigation measures. We propose that loss mitigation and flood defence should become increasingly collaborative in line with the complexities of flooding within a community. We seek a move away from the information asymmetry which currently exists between insurance providers and policyholders, and yet simultaneously call for local authorities to recognise the capacity of the public to participate in FRM, and sustain resilience in the face of rising flood risk.

L’accompagnement des rythmes sociaux et de la complexité urbaine sont une priorité pour les décideurs. Cependant, les réponses fournies sont soumises à une analyse permanente de l’adéquation entre risque et anticipation. Cette thèse propose une réflexion sur la prise en compte de l’éthique dans les pratiques de gestion de crise. Dans une première partie, un état de l’art du concept nous montre que la « ville intelligente » semble être une réponse séduisante pour le décideur. Elle se développe dans une continuité assurée par une résilience programmée dans la globalité. Or, lorsque ce système basé sur le principe de continuité est remis en cause subitement, la surprise soumet le décideur à une réaction de rupture. La disqualification des services technologiques impose alors de réagir en se référant aux concepts fondamentaux de la socialisation humaine. Recherchée au plus profond de la conscience de l'individu dans le collectif, nous montrons dans une deuxième partie que la rupture se matérialise pour les décideurs sous la forme de dilemmes éthiques. Notre analyse s’appuie sur une mise en perspective de l’éthique des situations extrêmes (conflits, santé), et sur une enquête réalisée auprès de décideurs. Nous mobilisons le concept de culture organisationnelle, appliqué aux acteurs de la sécurité civile ainsi qu’aux organisations ayant mis en œuvre une gouvernance collaborative des risques. Enfin, dans une troisième partie, nous montrons que le questionnement éthique réalisé lors de la phase de préparation est une voie d’anticipation des incertitudes associées à la prise de décision en contexte de crise / The support of the social rhythms and the urban complexity are a priority for the decision-makers. However, the supplied answers are subjected to a permanent analysis of the adequacy between risk and anticipation. This thesis proposes a reflection on the consideration of the ethics in the practices of crisis management. In a first part, a state of the art of the concept shows us that the "smart city" seems to be an attractive answer for the decision-maker. She develops in a continuity assured by a resilience scheduled in the global nature. Yet, when this system based on the principle of continuity is suddenly questioned, the surprise subjects the decision-maker to a reaction of break. The disqualification of the technological services imposes then to react by referring to the fundamental concepts of the human socialization. Looked for in the depths of the consciousness of the individual in the collective, we show in a second part that the break materializes for the decision-makers under the form of ethical dilemmae. Our analysis leans on one put in perspective by the ethics of the extreme situations (conflicts, health), and on an investigation realized with decision-makers. We mobilize the concept of organizational culture, applied to the actors of the civil safety as well as to the organizations having implemented a collaborative governance of the risks. Finally, in the third part, we show that the ethical questioning realized during the phase of preparation is a way of anticipation of the uncertainties associated with the decision-making in context of crisis

In this thesis, I examine the politics, poetics, and logics of uneventful human harm in the United States by tracking the life and afterlife of a chemically contaminated emergency housing unit. In 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed 120,000 trailers to the US Gulf Coast to house those displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Chemical testing, spurred by reports of inhabitant illness, revealed elevated levels of formaldehyde emanating from the plywood walls of the trailers. After being reclaimed by the federal government and beginning in 2010, the FEMA trailers were resold at auction to every corner of the country. Resold trailers gravitated to precarious populations at the poles of rural capital accumulation—from oil patches in North Dakota to reservations in Washington. These trailers serve as an exceptional substrate for an investigation into the anatomy of the uneventful as they once approached the apex of eventfulness as a national controversy and now reside in the shadows of the everyday. This thesis apprehends and theorizes these dispersed and ordinary instruments of domestic harm across multiple registers: epistemological, material, spatial, and affective. I examine how failures of matter and meaning shaped and patterned the lives of those who inhabited the FEMA trailers as their lives became framed by chemical off-gassing, architectural insufficiency, material deterioration, and electrical short-circuiting. Crossing scales and venues, I interrogate the modalities of scientific incomprehension that erode the perception, admittance, or substantiation of mass chemical exposure. These technical processes, along with cultural horizons of eventfulness and the chronicity of disaster, foreclosed avenues of toxic harm accountability. These ‘economies of abandonment’ bring into relief the contemporary biopolitical priorities in which the FEMA trailer—an ostensible protection from harm that fosters illness—becomes possible. FEMA trailer residents attend to the minute, gradual, and ongoing symptoms of exposure to discern the reality and magnitude of residential contamination. The body of the exposed becomes both an epistemic instrument and, across time, the means of making low-level, chronic, and cruddy chemical exposures into eventful instances that drive individuals to action.