Chapter 6

Regrowing Uprooted Social Networks

I n addition to providing needed goods and services after a disaster, entre-

preneurs repurpose existing social networks and help community members
restore and replace social networks that were disrupted by the disaster. Recall
that social networks play a key role in helping individuals recover from disas-
ters but that disasters can disrupt and destroy those networks. For disaster
victims, social networks can be a source of financial resources, emotional
support, mutual assistance, and information about how to navigate the chal-
lenges of the post-disaster environment. In the language that we introduced
in chapter 3, entrepreneurs that restore disrupted social networks and facili-
tate the creation of new social networks increase the probability that others
will return and lower the cost of returning by giving the victims access to
mutual assistance.
People who are part of a disaster victim’s social networks, especially her
strong ties, are often disaster victims themselves and are often displaced by
the disaster as well; their capacity to render assistance is, therefore, reduced.
In such scenarios, entrepreneurs can discover and create opportunities for
displaced residents to reconnect with one another, share information, and
work together to bring about community rebound. As Chamlee-Wright
(2010: 43) writes, “as difficult as the physical tasks of recovery are, these
challenges seem almost easy compared to rebuilding the fabric of human
relationships that make a collection of residential and commercial build-
ings a functioning community.” Additionally, “the heterogeneous nature
of social capital suggests that the reconfiguration and redirection of social
capital resources is not a passive or automatic process but instead requires
active and creative minds to tease out solutions” (ibid.: 43). Commercial
and civic leaders are especially well suited to help community members
restore and recombine social capital. As Chamlee-Wright (ibid.: 49) writes,
“because of their particular tie to a neighborhood, businesses can play a
direct role in reweaving place-based social capital, giving people greater rea-
son to endure the hardships of the rebuilding process.” This role is similar
to, but distinct from, their acting as a focal point (discussed in chapter 7).
While acting as a focal point, entrepreneurs coordinate recovery efforts and
V. H. Storr et al., Community Revival in the Wake of Disaster
© Virgil Henry Storr, Stefanie Haeffele-Balch and Laura E. Grube 2015
88 C OMMUNIT Y RE VIVAL IN T HE WAK E OF D ISASTER

rally others to return or rebuild. An entrepreneur qua restorer of social net-

works primarily facilitates communication to connect dispersed residents
with one another and with those who might be able to provide assistance.
It is important to note that these roles are not mutually exclusive, and often
one entrepreneur or a group of residents will act as a focal point for recov-
ery by restoring a social network to connect dispersed residents or to spread
information. Stated another way, social capital regrouping does signal com-
munity rebound that inspires others to engage in recovery, but it is a driver
of community rebound in its own right.
Additionally, as individuals who frequently have weak connections to
many different groups, entrepreneurs are uniquely situated to fill in struc-
tural holes or utilize linking social capital (Burt 1992, 1998). Similarly, entre-
preneurs can connect members of different subgroups of a social network
that were separated by the disaster. Entrepreneurs also work to connect aid
suppliers (i.e., donors and volunteers) with aid demanders (i.e., disaster vic-
tims). Moreover, entrepreneurs can create social spaces where disaster victims
can form and reform their social bonds. Stated another way, entrepreneurs
can create opportunities for community members to spend time together
“in ways their routine lives didn’t afford and [help] to repair the social fabric
of community” (Chamlee-Wright 2010: 48).
Other scholars have drawn attention to the disruption of social net-
works that can occur after disasters and the importance of disaster victims
reconnecting their disrupted social networks to spur community rebound.
For instance, as Holcombe (2007: 108) describes, “a disaster can have a
devastating impact on a community by disrupting normal social functions
and altering social relationships.” See also Erikson (1976) and Quarantelli
(1978). Similarly, Dynes (2006) and Adler (2010) have found that disas-
ters change the pattern of, and obligations within, social networks. After a
disaster, networks reorient around recovery. Also, pre-disaster obligations
become less important in comparison to the needs and circumstances after
the disaster. Communities with strong ties, such as the Vietnamese com-
munity in New Orleans East, have been found to recover quickly, relying
on their close connections (Chamlee-Wright 2010; Chamlee-Wright and
Storr 2009c, 2010c, 2011b; Aldrich 2011a, 2011b, 2012; Hurlbert et al.
2000, 2001). Additionally, communities that utilize their preexisting res-
ervoir of weak ties and community organizations to reconnect and work
toward shared recovery goals can spur recovery (Bolin and Stanford 1998;
Chamlee-Wright and Storr 2010a; Murphy 2007; Shaw and Goda 2004;
Storr and Haeffele-Balch 2012).
Notably, the Hurricane Katrina victims that we interviewed spoke about
(1) the challenge of locating and communicating with similarly displaced
disaster victims in their social circle (even close friends and family members)
after they evacuated the area and were in exile following the hurricane and
(2) the critical role commercial and civic leaders played in facilitating their
reconnecting with old ties and forming new bonds.1