Using photovoice to investigate the impact of place attachment on community resilience in Iceland

Abstract

Purpose

Globally, climate change is exacerbating the impacts of climate-related, natural hazards including avalanches. However, there is limited knowledge about how small and remote communities are affected by and perceive the effects of a changing climate with hazards that increase in intensity and/or frequency. Consequently, there is a call for more actionable and interdisciplinary climate adaptation research, which takes its starting point in understanding the local concerns of people living in small remote communities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper test the photovoice method to gather respondents’ perceptions of the place in which they live and the hazards they face through personal narratives of photographs.

Findings

Despite its limitations, the photovoice method was found to be a suitable tool for gaining valuable insights into the communities while ensuring comfort and enjoyment for both participants and the researcher.

Research limitations/implications

The findings also show that despite its limitations photovoice is a useful method for shedding light on risk perception, place attachment and resiliency in communities facing the risk of natural hazards. The study found that place attachment is an important factor to consider in disaster risk management, policy and decision making.

Originality/value

The paper adds to a growing body of literature surrounding the relationship between place attachment and community resilience to climate-related natural hazards. The authors examined the impact of place attachment on community resilience, focusing on two rural and remote villages located in the Westfjords in Iceland – Patreksfjörður and Flateyri. Societal aspects of natural hazards have hitherto been hardly addressed in Iceland and to our knowledge the applied method has not been tested before in such a setting. The photovoice method is tested to gather respondents’ perceptions of the place in which they live and the hazards they face through personal narratives of photographs.