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Abstract
Although scholars have written much about disaster, disaster recovery, and how both can produce or exacerbate inequalities, less attention has been given to the study of intersecting inequalities in the context of disaster recovery. Most disaster scholarship tends to isolate one type of inequality. In this dissertation, I draw upon critical race theory, intersectionality, and feminist theory to argue for an intersectionality that is radically based on context. In this dissertation, the contexts are Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I draw upon fieldwork from 2013 to 2015 (a total of 10 months), 162 in-depth semi structured interviews, and archival data to answer the question of how inequalities are articulated in long-term recovery from disaster. I also investigate historical processes in both locations to understand how inequalities after disaster are based larger ongoing patterns. In addition to proposing intersectionality based on context, I have four main findings. First, in both Joplin and Tuscaloosa, historical inequities in housing and segregated spaces and existing class and racial inequalities influence who was affected by the storm and who was able to recover more quickly. Second, I show that colorblind racism varies based on context. Third, I find that the available of low-income housing in long-term recovery from disaster varies based on location, gender, race, age, and class. Fourth, I find that residents in Tuscaloosa are more collectively traumatized than are Joplin residents. I conclude with public policy recommendations.