Wittig, Valentin Carlo (2023) Vulnerable buildings or vulnerable people? Exploring perceptions influencing disaster risk in Bucharest, Romania. Master thesis.
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Abstract
This research aims to explore the effects of different perceptions of vulnerability on risk management practices in Bucharest, Romania, a city that does not frequently experience earthquakes but nevertheless is vulnerable. The literature has so far paid little attention to how subjective views on vulnerability to natural hazards shape the actions taken and ultimately the preparedness of residents. Vulnerability of people is a question of power and resources, yet these root causes seem to play a secondary role in practice. In order to assess the roles of power, subjective views and culture in the management of risk, I analyzed how vulnerability is framed in policy documents and official reports and conducted interviews with civil servants, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations. Bucharest emerges as a complex riskscape of interwoven expectations and responsibilities that hamper collaboration between civil society and government institutions, resulting in the earthquake issue staying on the margins of public debate. While the government is seemingly handling the issue well through constant legislative improvements in the past years, the tangible effect for the regular resident of Bucharest is negligible in terms of practical preparedness to be able to cope with the looming earthquake.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Turhan, E. |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Aug 2023 11:29 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Aug 2023 11:29 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4205 |
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