DOI: 10.17603/ds2-sb6m-n647
title: Interview Instruments for Buyout Participants, Remaining Residents, and Project Managers in Harris County, Texas
title: in Longitudinal Impact of Floodplain Buyouts on Neighborhood Change in Harris County, Texas

description: This study focused on the impact of floodplain buyouts on neighborhood changes in Harris County, Texas. The investigators conducted interviews with Harris County residents who have experienced neighborhood change caused by floodplain buyouts implemented between 2001 and 2010. To recruit interviewees, a stratified sampling procedure was used to identify block groups with higher-, middle-, and lower-social vulnerability based on the social vulnerability index (SVI). 120 buyout participants and 153 remaining residents were randomly selected from each block group with different social vulnerability levels. Then, recruitment letters were sent out to potential subjects by mail, asking if they would like to participate in the study. The study conducted interviews with ten residents (five from buyout participants and five from remaining residents) with topics including flood experiences and property damages, reasons to choose to relocate or stay, experiences during the buyout process, descriptions about neighborhood conducted buyouts, neighborhood changes or comparisons of sending and receiving neighborhoods, and some demographic questions. In addition, an interview with a buyout manager from the implementing agency was conducted with topics on plans for the acquired land and the residents remaining in place. This project includes the IRB protocol, informed consent forms, recruitment instruments, and interview instruments.
description: The FEMA-funded buyout program in the United States is the longest-running buyout program around the world. As climate change intensifies flood risks in many places, the demands on floodplain buyouts have increased in recent decades to expedite residents' relocation from hazardous areas to safer ground and minimize future disaster risks. Focusing on neighborhood changes in Harris County, Texas, we seek to examine how buyouts implemented between 2001 and 2010 have altered neighborhood characteristics compared to the normal trend of neighborhood change over time, specifically in racial composition, economic status, and housing stock. This project includes interviews with buyout participants, remaining residents, and a buyout manager (n=11) conducted from November 2020 to January 2021. As for the recruitment process, 120 residents from the HCFCD buyout data and 153 residents from the Harris County parcel data who remained in a buyout neighborhood since buyout implementation were randomly chosen based on the social vulnerability index (SVI) of block groups they lived at the time of buyout implementation. Then, recruitment letters were sent out to potential subjects by mail, asking if they would like to participate in the study. Interview topics included: flood experiences and property damages, reasons to choose to relocate or stay, experiences during the buyout process, descriptions about neighborhood conducted buyouts, neighborhood changes or comparisons of sending and receiving neighborhoods, and some demographic questions. Here, we have the IRB protocol, recruitment instruments, and interview instruments. Due to the privacy of the interview participants, the investigators are not able to share the interview transcripts but are sharing the recruitment instruments and interview guides for three groups: the buyout participant group, the remaining resident group, and the buyout manager. We hope these recruitment and interview instruments provide an opportunity to guide qualitative disaster researchers to create their own data.