RAPID: Relocate or Rebuild: Key Triggers of Household Decisions after Hurricane Helene

The objective of this Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project is to support research on understanding the importance of place attachment in homeowners’ decisions to either repair their homes or relocate elsewhere after experiencing damage from a hurricane. People are connected to their land and communities in ways not fully understood. This project will help to discover what motivates people to stay or leave after a major disruption as well as what drives their action in future events.

The findings inform government, businesses, and non-profit organizations to prepare and plan for how to best assist residents affected by natural disasters.

This project will collect ephemeral data in the aftermath of 2024 Hurricane Helene and enhances underdeveloped theories of the place-attachment. The main goals are (1) to identify the most important factors underlying homeowners’ decisions to rebuild or relocate and (2) to develop a model to predict relocation intentions. Data is collected primarily in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, through surveys, interviews and focus groups.

Results are expected to lead to a better understanding of how people think of the importance of the “place” they live and how it influences their assessments of the risks of future disasters. The insight gained on social-emotional bonds homeowners have with their locations could be generalizable to other regions and events.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.