Nontraditional Participation in Disaster Recovery Planning: Cases From China, India, and the United States

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Stakeholder participation facilitates efficient identification of recovery needs, dynamic exchange of information, and consolidation of diverse perspectives as well as builds long-term trust and social capital between stakeholders. Yet, planners often fail to use the full potential of participatory planning when they are caught in the fast-paced, uncertain, and complex post-disaster environment. We draw lessons from case studies on recovery planning after three major disasters: the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), and the Wenchuan earthquake (2008) in China. We collected qualitative data about participatory planning using key informant interviews with stakeholders, supplemented by field observations, records of planning meetings, and government documents. We find that stakeholder participation in disaster recovery planning can happen in nontraditional yet effective ways, including indirect representation and active opposition. Disasters can rebalance power relationships and create more opportunities for participation by marginalized groups. Stakeholders’ participatory behaviors evolve over the course of recovery due to shifting priorities, intensified resource competition, and the difficulty of using “normal” participatory mechanisms. Takeaway for practice: Stakeholder participation, a time-consuming process, can actually speed up recovery in the long run. Planners must critically examine the local community's social and power structures, identify potential for nontraditional participation, tap into networks of indirect representation, and adapt to the changing landscape of actors and local interests to contend with the challenges of participation in disaster recovery and make use of new opportunities as they arise.