TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatial Optimism and Cross-Over Effects in the Perceptions of Interconnected Wildfire, Flood, and Mudslide Hazards
AU - Houston, Douglas
AU - Pérez Figueroa, Omar
AU - Jong-Levinger, Ariane
AU - Schubert, Jochen E.
AU - Sanders, Brett F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Communities near the wildland urban interface (WUI) are exposed to a mix of three interconnected hazards (wildfire, flood, and mudslide), and understanding multi-hazard perceptions is critically important for emergency preparation and hazard mitigation—particularly given the WUI’s rapid expansion and intensifying environmental hazards. Based on a survey of residents living near recent burn scars in Southern California, we document cross-over effects in hazard perceptions, where resident experience with one hazard was associated with greater hazard rankings for other hazards. Additionally, for all three hazards analyzed we document perceptions of increasing hazard levels with increasing spatial scales (home, near-home, neighborhood, and community), providing evidence of spatial optimism, or the tendency to discount proximate hazards. This study stresses the importance of using a multi-hazard and multi-scale approach for understanding and responding to local level environmental hazards.
AB - Communities near the wildland urban interface (WUI) are exposed to a mix of three interconnected hazards (wildfire, flood, and mudslide), and understanding multi-hazard perceptions is critically important for emergency preparation and hazard mitigation—particularly given the WUI’s rapid expansion and intensifying environmental hazards. Based on a survey of residents living near recent burn scars in Southern California, we document cross-over effects in hazard perceptions, where resident experience with one hazard was associated with greater hazard rankings for other hazards. Additionally, for all three hazards analyzed we document perceptions of increasing hazard levels with increasing spatial scales (home, near-home, neighborhood, and community), providing evidence of spatial optimism, or the tendency to discount proximate hazards. This study stresses the importance of using a multi-hazard and multi-scale approach for understanding and responding to local level environmental hazards.
KW - flood
KW - hazard perception
KW - mudslide
KW - spatial optimism
KW - wildfire
KW - wildland urban interface
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201673923&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85201673923&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/00139165241275482
DO - 10.1177/00139165241275482
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85201673923
SN - 0013-9165
VL - 56
SP - 19
EP - 58
JO - Environment and Behavior
JF - Environment and Behavior
IS - 1-2
ER -