Search

I am interested in seeing how social ties and networks have been used to cope with (un)natural disasters. My research focus on places under disasters conditions such as Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria, in which social ties have made the difference between life and death. Furthermore, “natural” disaster has been used to approved austerity measures and unjust policies to impoverished communities like in New Orleans after Katrina. These policies were not new, as they are rooted in structures of power to preserve the status quo. Yet, people have resisted, “through a network of branches, cultures, and geographies” that has stimulated a reflective process of looking within for solutions rather than outside. As often this outside solutions are not only detached from community’s reality but can perpetuate social injustices and inequalities.

McKittrick, K., & Woods, C. A. (Eds.). (2007). Black geographies and the politics of place. South End Press.

Bullard, R. D., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2009). Race, place, and environmental justice after Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to reclaim, rebuild, and revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Westview Press.

Dr. Knowles uses various historical reports and accounts, both official and third-party, to chart the development of disaster investigation in the United States. He cites various agencies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Underwriters' Laboratory or UL, LLC. 

This policy ensures that EMTs and Paramedics who transport patients to hospitals are not refused admittance or directed to other facilities due to their patients' inability to pay or other factors. While emergency departments still may declare a divert status, whereby incoming EMS units are advised that the ER is either full or unable to accept patients due to other factors, this act, and other relevant state statutes, require that hospitals still accept, treat, and stabilize any patients that are brought to their facilities.