Peace Building and Resilience (Japanese)

[2N07] A qualitative analysis on resilience construction in the post-2021 Henan Floods communities: from the perspective of social capital

*Yixuan WANG¹ (1. Osaka University)

Keywords:social capital, community resilience, '7.20' Henan floods

Bonding, bridging and linking social capital, as three types of social capital, their significance for building community resilience has been documented. However, few studies have analyzed the characteristics of the three types of social capital in different communities and developed specific strategies to improve resilience. This study aims to examine the different forms of action of these three types of social capital in different communities and the reason behind the formation of these characteristics. Zhengzhou, China was chosen as a study case. The reason for choosing Zhengzhou is it is a flood-prone area and was affected by a massive flood in July 2021. Qualitative research was utilized in this study. The evidence was collected by participatory observation and semi-structured interviews on three different communities in the most severely affected areas of Zhengzhou: Community A (Real estate management community); Community B (Mixed Immigrant Evolving Community); Community C (Traditional Community). Based on the results, it shows that the bonding social capital has played a significant role in the post-disaster period amongst all three communities. Families, friends, and close neighbors have been the main channel to get assistance after the disaster. As for the bridging social capitcal, it only performed in Community A. Aid organizations and volunteers have tended to prioritize A as their supporting audience rather than B or C because of A’s location (city center located) and high visibility. Additionally, the linking social capital has played a more active role in Community C than A and B. Comparing to A and B, C has a simpler demographic composition where the residents and government officials are mostly acquainted with each other, which promotes a sense of trust. This means that C is getting more relief from the government after the flood. This study has provided insights to emergency managers. disaster response personnel and respective organizations to improve their emergency strategies and policies, hence facilitating community resilience.