Neighbourliness and the natural disaster effect

Here’s an article by Queensland sociologist Lynda Cheshire, reflecting on the contrast between neighbourly behaviour during the floods in that state last year, and a reported ‘rise in neighbourly tensions’ that apparently characterises contemporary Australian life. Why are neighbours still there when needed, she asks, 'even if their noise, smells and habits are cause for complaint the rest of the time?'

Cheshire notes that the contrast might partly be explained by an increased ability to avoid confrontation by referring difficulties to official intermediaries (like this example I blogged not long ago) and points out that this is ‘a costly habit’:

‘There is a possibility that the wave of goodwill exhibited during the floods will minimise neighbourly conflicts, or at least reduce registered complaints. But it may also create new sets of expectations about neighbours and new forms of conflict if these normative codes are breached.’

I’m reminded that some months ago I wrote about the way supportive neighbourly responses in time of large-scale disasters throw up somewhat nostalgic reflections about how our societies have 'lost' the values that are warmly evidenced in time of adversity. Cheshire’s article does not come into that category, although she does appear at least in this case to reproduce uncritically the received narrative of decline. I'd like to know more about whether neighbourliness in Australia really has declined and in what ways, and how that compares with the UK where similar claims are so often made.

 

Comments

[Sid Burgess]

Oklahoma experienced a rare blizzard on Christmas Eve a couple years back. It was interesting to see how many people came out to help others. In fact, many published their home address to let people know where there was at least a warm couch to sleep on in case they were stranded nearby on a highway.

[Kevin Harris]

Thanks Sid. Taking one of Lynda Cheshire's points, I think it would be interesting to study systematically the extent to which perceived levels of neighbourliness are sustained after significant unusual circumstances or disasters. Queensland or Christchurch might have been good places for that to happen. I'm reminded of some post-Hurricane-Katrina research on trust, which I blogged here. There is also of course a social media dimension to this, in the way it makes it so much easier for people who are connected to receive information of the kind you describe. And also indirectly is likely to raise assistance for those who are not connected.

[Sid Burgess]

I agree. I would enjoy reading more research on the concept.