Browsing by Author "Elliott, James"

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    Divergent Residential Pathways from Flood-Prone Areas: How Neighborhood Inequalities Are Shaping Urban Climate Adaptation
    (2021) Elliott, James; Loughran, Kevin; Brown, Phylicia Lee; Department of Sociology
    Flood risks are rising across the United States, putting the economic and social values of growing numbers of homes at risk. In response, the federal government is funding the purchase and demolition of housing in areas of greatest jeopardy, tacitly promoting residential resettlement as a strategy of climate adaptation, especially in cities. Despite these developments, little is known about where people move when they engage in such resettlement or how answers to that question vary by the racial and economic status of their flood-prone neighborhoods. The present study begins to fill that gap. First, we introduce a new typology for classifying environmental resettlement along two socio-spatial dimensions of community attachment: (a) distance moved from one’s flood-prone home; and (b) average distance resettled from similarly relocated neighbors. Next, we analyze data from 1,572 homeowners who accepted government-funded buyouts across 39 neighborhood areas in Harris County, Texas – Houston’s urban core. Results indicate that homeowners from more privileged neighborhoods resettle closer to both their flood-prone homes and to one another, thus helping to preserve the social as well as economic value of home; whereas, homeowners from less privileged areas end up farther away from both. Implications for understanding social inequities in government-funded urban climate adaptation are discussed.
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    Queer Subcultural Integration and the Search for Community in the Modern Metropolis
    (2021-11-01) Turner, Katie Lane; Elliott, James; Roberto, Elizabeth
    Using new interview data collected from transgender, nonbinary, and others across the LGBTQ+ spectrum in Atlanta, GA, this study analyzes how, upon first moving to a sprawling metropolis, queer people integrate into queer subcultures as a way to find community. Participants report that finding queer networks not only provides a sense of normalcy and support but also allows for the spread of information and resources vital to marginalized members entering a new urban area. Findings show that to access such information and resources these queer people primarily rely on queer institutions to integrate into queer subcultures. However, they feel disconnected from those institutions and from the queer community as a whole because of the spatial and cultural challenges of the suburbs, where many queer newcomers end up settling due to high housing costs in the central city and despite their aspirations to live in what they consider to be “queerer” parts of Atlanta. These findings corroborate prior research on the spatial structures of gay neighborhoods in urban spaces and the place-based formation of subculture. They also add new insights into the personal and community challenges of sprawling metropolitan regions for queer subcultural integration and thus reproduction over time.