Resistance to relocation in flood-vulnerable coastal areas: a proposed composite index
Résumé
The increasing number of coastal floods in recent years in France has resulted in the design of new adaptation principles for the most endangered coastal areas. The aim of the government is to reduce the vulnerability of these areas by relocating property and infrastructure. These measures have, however, come up against considerable opposition from the population concerned. Using a survey of 421 inhabitants of Hyères, a coastal town in the South of France, this article proposes the study of resistance to relocation through the creation of an index for resistance that incorporates attachment to place, residential mobility and risk perception. The results show a correlation for the index and distance from the sea that highlights the existence of conflicting interests with adaptation measures depending upon population categories.