The desire for local governments to adapt to climate change seems logically relevant as weather extremes inhibit the ability of local governments to protect public health and safety and to ensure delivery of public services. By conducting planned adaptation to climate change local governments enable themselves to minimize risk and increase adaptive capacity to deal with climate change impacts. In the midst of a federal government, minus the Obama administration, that has tended to downplay the importance of climate change, action by local level governments - cities in particular - in the U.S. have been at the forefront of action on climate change. Little attention has been given to local government adaptation in rural areas by both researchers and policy makers alike. Rural areas are at risk to changes in climate because they tend to be reliant on climate sensitive industries, comprised of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and very young and to possess few resources to conduct land-use and other planning. This dissertation expands upon previous research by examining the decision to conduct planned adaptation by both urban and rural local government adaptation to climate change (RQ1) and by identifying the influences on the decision of local governments in both urban and rural areas to conduct planned adaptation to climate change (RQ2). New York State was selected as an appropriate case study to answer research questions because of the drastic contrast between urban and rural areas of the state. On the one hand, it has been one of the most progressive states in terms of climate change policy including its largest local government New York City; on the other hand, it is comprised of many rural local governments suffering from population and economic decline. An online survey was distributed to all New York State local governments in November/December 2011 and supplemented by informant discussions conducted before and after the survey. While a considerable amount of time has passed since the survey was conducted, it took place during what appears to be a particular timeframe in political history where the U.S. president supported action on climate change. Results of this study show strong differences in resource availability and the likelihood of urban vs. rural elected officials to conduct planned adaptation. One hundred and forty-two responses were received from large and small cities, towns, villages and counties. A traditional deductive research design was deployed to answer research questions. To examine the influences on the decision of local elected officials to conduct planned adaptation hypotheses were developed based on previous empirical studies and Mohr’s 1969 hypothesis that “Innovation is related to the motivation to innovate, inversely related to the strength of obstacles to innovation, and directly related to the availability of resources for overcoming such obstacles” (Mohr, 1969, p. 111). Two dependent variables were measured (1) planned adaptation or conscious decisions to adapt to climate change and an alternate dependent variable (2) formal and informal discussion of climate change within the local government. Independent variables measured related to local elected official motivation to conduct planned adaptation in the form of climate weather related concerns in New York State (i.e. extreme weather, water quality, and ecological changes), resource availability within the local government (i.e. budget, staff, climate change expertise) and the existence of obstacles toward planned adaptation external to local governments (i.e. public support, federal and state informational and financial support). The results of the survey showed that a small minority of local governments in New York State had decided to conduct planned adaptation to climate change. Over half of the sample was identified as conducting some form of spontaneous or reactive adaptation which consisted mostly of actions to minimize flood risk (i.e. update storm-water infrastructure, manage flood plains, promote open space). However, no local government surveyed had been identified as having successfully implemented an adaptation plan. Informal discussions were found to be occurring among half of the sample surveyed with a small number of local governments discussing climate change formally. According to informant discussions, the low level of planned adaptation among New York State local governments can be explained by a number of factors including a non-requirement to conduct planned adaptation, varying policy, resource and incentive conditions throughout the state, a lack of urgency to adapt to climate change and, finally, the absence of a support system to conduct planned adaptation. Results of hypothesis testing indicate that local governments are more likely to conduct planned adaptation to climate change where: A) climate change concerns are water related, B) budget, staff and climate change expertise are available and C) public support to address climate change impacts as well as state and federal informational support are available. Financial support from state and federal governments did not appear to influence the decision to conduct planned adaptation. Rural local governments were found less likely than urban local governments to be discussing climate change and to be conducting planned adaptation which is likely to be related to organizational size and the availability of resources to conduct planned adaptation measures. This dissertation contributes to understanding how local governments are adapting to climate change in New York State, what influences the decision of elected officials to conduct planned adaptation to climate change and how experiences may differ from municipality type — especially related to urban vs. rural local governments.

The desire for local governments to adapt to climate change seems logically relevant as weather extremes inhibit the ability of local governments to protect public health and safety and to ensure delivery of public services. By conducting planned adaptation to climate change local governments enable themselves to minimize risk and increase adaptive capacity to deal with climate change impacts. In the midst of a federal government, minus the Obama administration, that has tended to downplay the importance of climate change, action by local level governments - cities in particular - in the U.S. have been at the forefront of action on climate change. Little attention has been given to local government adaptation in rural areas by both researchers and policy makers alike. Rural areas are at risk to changes in climate because they tend to be reliant on climate sensitive industries, comprised of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and very young and to possess few resources to conduct land-use and other planning. This dissertation expands upon previous research by examining the decision to conduct planned adaptation by both urban and rural local government adaptation to climate change (RQ1) and by identifying the influences on the decision of local governments in both urban and rural areas to conduct planned adaptation to climate change (RQ2). New York State was selected as an appropriate case study to answer research questions because of the drastic contrast between urban and rural areas of the state. On the one hand, it has been one of the most progressive states in terms of climate change policy including its largest local government New York City; on the other hand, it is comprised of many rural local governments suffering from population and economic decline. An online survey was distributed to all New York State local governments in November/December 2011 and supplemented by informant discussions conducted before and after the survey. While a considerable amount of time has passed since the survey was conducted, it took place during what appears to be a particular timeframe in political history where the U.S. president supported action on climate change. Results of this study show strong differences in resource availability and the likelihood of urban vs. rural elected officials to conduct planned adaptation. One hundred and forty-two responses were received from large and small cities, towns, villages and counties. A traditional deductive research design was deployed to answer research questions. To examine the influences on the decision of local elected officials to conduct planned adaptation hypotheses were developed based on previous empirical studies and Mohr’s 1969 hypothesis that “Innovation is related to the motivation to innovate, inversely related to the strength of obstacles to innovation, and directly related to the availability of resources for overcoming such obstacles” (Mohr, 1969, p. 111). Two dependent variables were measured (1) planned adaptation or conscious decisions to adapt to climate change and an alternate dependent variable (2) formal and informal discussion of climate change within the local government. Independent variables measured related to local elected official motivation to conduct planned adaptation in the form of climate weather related concerns in New York State (i.e. extreme weather, water quality, and ecological changes), resource availability within the local government (i.e. budget, staff, climate change expertise) and the existence of obstacles toward planned adaptation external to local governments (i.e. public support, federal and state informational and financial support). The results of the survey showed that a small minority of local governments in New York State had decided to conduct planned adaptation to climate change. Over half of the sample was identified as conducting some form of spontaneous or reactive adaptation which consisted mostly of actions to minimize flood risk (i.e. update storm-water infrastructure, manage flood plains, promote open space). However, no local government surveyed had been identified as having successfully implemented an adaptation plan. Informal discussions were found to be occurring among half of the sample surveyed with a small number of local governments discussing climate change formally. According to informant discussions, the low level of planned adaptation among New York State local governments can be explained by a number of factors including a non-requirement to conduct planned adaptation, varying policy, resource and incentive conditions throughout the state, a lack of urgency to adapt to climate change and, finally, the absence of a support system to conduct planned adaptation. Results of hypothesis testing indicate that local governments are more likely to conduct planned adaptation to climate change where: A) climate change concerns are water related, B) budget, staff and climate change expertise are available and C) public support to address climate change impacts as well as state and federal informational support are available. Financial support from state and federal governments did not appear to influence the decision to conduct planned adaptation. Rural local governments were found less likely than urban local governments to be discussing climate change and to be conducting planned adaptation which is likely to be related to organizational size and the availability of resources to conduct planned adaptation measures. This dissertation contributes to understanding how local governments are adapting to climate change in New York State, what influences the decision of elected officials to conduct planned adaptation to climate change and how experiences may differ from municipality type — especially related to urban vs. rural local governments.

This study describes and analyses the influence of immigration and integration of German expellees and refugees in the former administrative district of Osnabrueck. It is a contribution to a new regional social and economic history as well as to the history of integration of German refugees after World War II. The main goals are to close the gaps in regional pre and post war history of population, administration and economy. To a certain extent this thesis is of global importance with respect to the history of refugee integration in Germany. It deals with the refugee administration that was in place until the 1970s as well as the methodology of econometric analysis. The latter is used to show the process of modernisation from an agrarian economy to one that is dominated by industry and services. The applied methods are those of narrative history as well as social and econometric statistics on historical long-term analysis. The study describes and analyses the regional history of population, administration and economy, the latter with special respect to history of farming. To show the impact of expellees on social and economic structure, each of the three sections is analysed in a similar way: Chronologically by comparing the history and structures from about 1900 to 1945 with the period after World War II up to the 1970s. Geographically by comparing regional to country and national statistical patterns. It can be shown that the refugee administration suffered from early "ad hoc administration" days until its agony in the 1970s from the dualism with the traditional social administration. At the beginning there was no survival without the support of British military government, which consideres this area as a test field for the influence of new democratic conditions on pre-democratic administrative structures and daily work. In the 1950s the influence of military government was replaced by political power of refugee organisations and party. There decline leads to agony and subsequent take-over by traditional administration in the 1970s. The study shows the role and impact of refugees as part of the labor immigration in between the "Fremdarbeiter" and the "Gastarbeiter" on regional economy. It displays the intersectoral changes by the shifts in figures and index’ of gainfully employed people (domestic and refugees) demonstrating the shift towards an industrial or service oriented economy. From a refugee point of view there was no integration in the sense of equal opportunities in the job market as compared to native Osnabrueckians. This led to a decline in social status, especially for those who had been independent farmers in the east. The "integration" by discrimination and declining social status caused geographical and job mobility especially among the younger refugees – into better paid and modern jobs. Qualified refugee labour sped up the long term process of industrialization. Those sub areas which in pre-war times had been dominated by an agricultural sector on a 19th century level changed to an industrialized or service driven level within 15 years – much faster than during the Industrial Revolution. The study shows also that refugees had been a very successful political vehicle for claiming and getting public economic subsidaries – which mostly reached not the immigrants but native (Emsland-) farmers and companies. All in all the integration of refugees was a bivalent process of interdependent mutual adaption: On the one hand that of immigrants towards the conditions to live and work in the Osnabrueck area. On the other side the impact of refugees onto speed and direction of post war development and modernization of regional structures. The general result is that refugee immigration and integration had a major impact on regional post war development and modernisation of an administration with a pre-democratic understanding and an pre-war economy dominated by agriculture.