TY - JOUR
T1 - To live with floods or not
T2 - Intersectionality of drivers of urban households' adaptation and relocation intentions
AU - Twerefou, Daniel Kwabena
AU - Abeney, Jacob Opantu
AU - Tete Larbi, Reuben
AU - Dovie, Delali Benjamin K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Flood Risk Management published by Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The intent of households to relocate amidst floods in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, using combined socio-demographic and physical factors is analyzed within 1206 households. The National Master Sampling Frame of Ghana's Population and Housing Census is utilized for the sampling. The Probit estimation technique is employed to understand the intersectionality of social, economic, demographic, and physical considerations influencing households' decision-making regarding relocation amidst flood risks. The findings show households' reluctance to relocate contrary to relocation considered mostly as preferred adaptation. The likelihood of relocating exhibited a non-linear pattern, decreasing only when a population was younger until age 55 before reversing. Indigenous households preferred not to relocate. In communities where place attachment and revenue sources significantly impacted relocation decisions, households with secondary education, past flood experiences, and non-indigenous status influenced higher perception of flood risk. Therefore, relocation as an effective global adaptation strategy to floods is not widespread. Thus, empowering households to accept a certain level of flood risk potentially avoids maladaptation and involves a combination of hard infrastructure measures and regulatory approaches in places of residence that do not compromise livelihoods. However, if relocation becomes necessary, a right-based approach must be favored over an absolute risk-based approach.
AB - The intent of households to relocate amidst floods in Ghana's Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, using combined socio-demographic and physical factors is analyzed within 1206 households. The National Master Sampling Frame of Ghana's Population and Housing Census is utilized for the sampling. The Probit estimation technique is employed to understand the intersectionality of social, economic, demographic, and physical considerations influencing households' decision-making regarding relocation amidst flood risks. The findings show households' reluctance to relocate contrary to relocation considered mostly as preferred adaptation. The likelihood of relocating exhibited a non-linear pattern, decreasing only when a population was younger until age 55 before reversing. Indigenous households preferred not to relocate. In communities where place attachment and revenue sources significantly impacted relocation decisions, households with secondary education, past flood experiences, and non-indigenous status influenced higher perception of flood risk. Therefore, relocation as an effective global adaptation strategy to floods is not widespread. Thus, empowering households to accept a certain level of flood risk potentially avoids maladaptation and involves a combination of hard infrastructure measures and regulatory approaches in places of residence that do not compromise livelihoods. However, if relocation becomes necessary, a right-based approach must be favored over an absolute risk-based approach.
KW - climatic risks
KW - disaster
KW - household characteristics
KW - intersectionality
KW - loss and damage
KW - migration
KW - sub-Saharan Africa
KW - urbanization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196314776&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jfr3.13015
DO - 10.1111/jfr3.13015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85196314776
JO - Journal of Flood Risk Management
JF - Journal of Flood Risk Management
ER -