About this Research Topic

Background

The field of disaster management is increasingly recognizing the importance of incorporating justice into the study of natural hazards and risks. Traditional disaster studies have often focused on the disparate impacts of disasters, particularly on vulnerable populations such as those with low socioeconomic status, who face homelessness, injuries, financial losses, and discrimination in aid distribution. These studies have highlighted the unjust processes involved in disaster risk creation, which are influenced by power dynamics in political and economic decision-making. Recent research has introduced the concept of disaster justice, which seeks to address these inequities by focusing on three key lenses: distributive, procedural, and recognition justice. Distributive justice examines the allocation of harm and benefits, procedural justice emphasizes inclusive decision-making processes, and recognition justice ensures respect for cultural practices and knowledge systems. Despite these advancements, there remains a need for comprehensive studies that integrate these justice lenses into disaster risk management, particularly in the context of natural hazards such as floods, droughts, and wildfires.

This research topic aims to explore the integration of disaster justice into the study of natural hazards and risks. It seeks to answer critical questions about how justice and equity can be incorporated into disaster risk communication and early warning systems. The research will test hypotheses related to the effectiveness of incorporating distributive, procedural, and recognition justice in disaster risk management. By examining these aspects, the research aims to provide a deeper understanding of how justice can be embedded in disaster studies to ensure fair treatment of all communities, particularly those that are most vulnerable.

To gather further insights in the integration of justice in disaster studies, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Natural hazards such as droughts, floods, mudslides, and wildfires, highlighting differential vulnerabilities and disproportionate exposures to disaster impacts and risks

• Compound and multi-hazard scenarios that incorporate or advance one or more domains of disaster justice, including disaster risk governance and the creation and reproduction of disaster risk

• Policy implications of integrating disaster justice into disaster risk management

• Studies that take stock or advance justice considerations in the phases of disaster risk management, including prevention, preparation, response, and recovery

• Stocktaking of methods that advance disaster justice considerations in natural hazards and disaster risk research.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Disaster Justice, Natural hazards, Disaster risk management, Compound and multi-hazard, Risk governance, Early warning systems, Equity

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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