Doctoral Dissertation Research: Drivers of Residential Decisions After Disasters

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $30,000 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Disasters alter the physical environment, destroy homes, and leave survivors with challenging decisions: should they return to their prior community or relocate to a new community? Past studies suggest that factors such as familial ties to an area, history in a community, age, employment opportunities, insurance coverage, and risk perceptions shape these residential decisions. Most of these studies, however, have focused on homeowners exclusively, ignoring renters, which make up 34 percent of U.S. households. Renters also encounter unique challenges in deciding where to live after disasters, since they do not decide whether to rebuild rental units after disasters. Understanding how renters make residential decisions after disasters, however, is paramount to ensuring communities recover after disasters. A wide range of businesses essential to community functioning rely heavily on renters, including restaurants, construction, farming, vegetation management, landscaping, and catering. This study addresses how renters make residential decisions after wildfires in two communities recently affected by major wildfires. Study findings support the development of disaster recovery plans that support the recovery of the housing market, the local economy, and renters after disasters. This project investigates how renters’ make residential decisions after wildfires using a modified Push-Pull Model of Migration. Previous literature, primarily focused on floods, suggests that residentia

Key facts

NSF award ID
2519827
Awardee
SUNY at Albany (NY)
SAM.gov UEI
NHH3T1Z96H29
PI
Alex Greer
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
Estimated total
$30,000
Funds obligated
$30,000
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
07/01/2025 → 06/30/2027