Tuesday, April 5, 2021 (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.)
Zoom: https://fullerton.zoom.us/j/85384406274
Christopher Gibson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
“The Backbone of the City” and COVID-19: Lessons Learned in Local Governance
This presentation will offer preliminary analysis of interview data. The author interviewed local officials in senior positions of public works departments and special governance districts throughout Orange County and Los Angeles during the Covid-19 crisis seeking to observe factors that correlate with effective and ineffective crisis response. Although, at the time of proposing this presentation, data collection is ongoing, early analysis highlights factors associated with labor burdens, funding streams, interagency networks, and emergency preparation planning. Public works departments and special governance districts like those providing municipal water services and public transportation can be considered “the backbone of the city” as one respondent described their work. As such, this study seeks to understand how such a critical aspect of urban life manages the onset of crises—including profound uncertainty and global economic downturn—and identify lessons for developing more resilient and equitable governance systems going forward.