Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Disaster Preparedness, Disability Awareness, and Disability Inequality: A Study of Hong Kong’s Property Management Sector

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
International Handbook of Disaster Research

  • 56 Accesses

Abstract

Inclusion of persons with disability (PWDs) to the society is one of the important Sustainable Development Goals advocated by the United Nations. An inclusive built environment facilitates their full participation and enjoyment of equal opportunities. To this end, it is necessary to remove the “manageable” environmental obstacles in our buildings. While many previous studies worked on inclusive design of built environment, little emphasis has been placed on the management issues. In particular, PWDs have often been ignored in the formulation and execution of crisis management or evacuation plan. Against this background, this chapter aims to provide a preliminary inquiry into how PWDs are treated in the context of disaster preparedness. Data were collected in Hong Kong through a survey on 16 residential developments and 8 in-depth interviews with PWDs and property managers. It is found that in none of the 16 residential developments investigated the property management agent had kept a register of residents with disabilities who might help in case of emergency or disaster (like flooding, fire, or terrorist attack). There was no clearly written protocol or manual for the property management personnel on how to assist these residents to evacuate from the buildings. No training was offered to the property management personnel to raise their disability awareness. The interviewed PWDs expressed that they were never told what they should do in case of emergency. Drawing on the research findings, this chapter makes a number of recommendations for achieving disability equality in the local property management sector.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Achora, S., & Kamanyire, J. K. (2016). Disaster preparedness: Need for inclusion in undergraduate nursing education. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 16(1), e15–e19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, D. (2005). Towards the development of a standard in emergency planning. Disaster Prevention and Management, 14(2), 158–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, D. (2015). Disability and disaster: An overview. In I. Kelman & L. M. Stough (Eds.), Disability and disaster: Explorations and exchanges (pp. 15–29). Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Allan, P., & Bryant, M. (2012). Resilience as a framework for urbanism and recovery. Journal of Landscape Architecture, 6(2), 34–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Red Cross. (2006). Disaster preparedness for seniors by seniors. American Red Cross.

    Google Scholar 

  • Awotona, A. (2016). Design for disaster preparation and mitigation. In M. Kanaani & D. Kopec (Eds.), The Routledge companion for architecture design and practice (pp. 339–360). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. (2009). Disaster preparedness for people with disabilities. Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bethel, J. W., Foreman, A. N., & Burke, S. C. (2011). Disaster preparedness among medically vulnerable populations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(2), 139–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buildings Department. (1997). Design manual: Barrier free access 1997. Buildings Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buildings Department. (2008). Design manual: Barrier free access 2008. Buildings Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buildings Department. (2015). Code of practice for fire safety in buildings 2011 (October 2015 version). Buildings Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buildings Department. (2021). Design manual: Barrier free access 2008 (2021 edition). Buildings Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2021). Special topics report no. 63: Persons with disabilities and chronic diseases. Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diab, G. M., & Mabrouk, S. M. (2015). The effect of guidance booklet on knowledge and attitudes of nurses regarding disaster preparedness at hospitals. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(9), 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dupre, K., & Bischeri, C. (2020). The architecture of resilience in rural towns. International Journal of Architectural Research – Archnet, 14(2), 187–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egodage, N., Abdeen, F. N., & Sridarran, P. (2020). Fire emergency evacuation procedures for differently-abled community in high-rise buildings. Journal of Facilities Management, 18(5), 505–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, M. H., White, G. W., Rooney, C., & Rowland, J. L. (2007). Disaster preparedness and response for persons with mobility impairments. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 17(4), 196–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights. (2016). Disaster preparedness in Hong Kong. François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fung, O. W. M., Loke, A. Y., & Lai, C. K. Y. (2008). Disaster preparedness among Hong Kong nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(6), 698–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Z., Wang, H., Du, Q., & Zeng, Y. (2017). Natural hazards preparedness in Taiwan: A comparison between households with and without disabled members. Health Security, 15(6), 575–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, V., Roper, K. O., & Kennedy, S. (2009). Emergency preparedness and disaster recovery in the US post 9/11. Journal of Facilities Management, 7(3), 212–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koo, J., Kim, Y. S., Kim, B.-I., & Christensen, K. M. (2013). A comparative study of evacuation strategies for people with disabilities in high-rise building evacuation. Expert Systems with Applications, 40(2), 408–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kyle, R. C. (2005). Property management. Dearborn Real Estate Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J.-S. (2016). A comparative study on the evacuation preparedness and guidelines for peoples with disability. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial Cooperation Society, 17(2), 470–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, S., Martin, K., & Gardner, J. D. (2016). Disaster response for people with disability. Disability and Health Journal, 9, 183–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Fire Protection Association. (2016). Emergency evacuation planning guide for people with disabilities. National Fire Protection Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nazli, N. N. N. N., Sipon, S., & Radzi, H. M. (2014). Analysis of training needs in disaster preparedness. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 140, 576–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, G., O’Keefe, P., Gadema, Z., & Swords, J. (2010). Approaching disaster management through social learning. Disaster Prevention and Management, 19(4), 498–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payant, R. P. (2016). Emergency management for facility and property managers. McGraw-Hill Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samsuddin, N. M., Takim, R., Nawawi, A. H., & Alwee, S. N. A. S. (2018). Disaster preparedness attributes and hospital’s resilience in Malaysia. Procedia Engineering, 212, 371–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sawalha, I. H. (2020). A contemporary perspective on the disaster management cycle. Foresight, 22(4), 469–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnitker, L., Fielding, E., MacAndrew, M., Beattie, E., Li, D., & FitzGerald, G. (2019). A national survey of aged care facility managers’ views of preparedness for natural disasters relevant to residents with dementia. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 38(3), 182–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, H.-M., Tu, K.-J., & Chiang, T.-Y. (2021). Establish a customer property service strategy framework. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 25(3), 204–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. L., & Notaro, S. J. (2009). Personal emergency preparedness for people with disabilities from the 2006–2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Disability and Health Journal, 2(2), 86–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. L., & Notaro, S. J. (2015). Is emergency preparedness a “disaster” for people with disabilities in the US? Results from the 2006–2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Disability and Society, 30(3), 410–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomio, J., Sato, H., & Mizumura, H. (2012). Disparity in disaster preparedness among rheumatoid arthritis patients with various general health, functional, and disability conditions. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 17, 322–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons of Disabilities. United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2021). Disability and health. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

  • Yau, Y., & Ho, D. C. W. (2019). Evaluation of property management agent performance: A novel empirical model. In O. L. Emeagwali & H. Y. Aljuhamni (Eds.), Strategic management: A dynamic view (pp. 43–60). InTechOpen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yau, Y., & Lau, W. K. (2016). Property management, disability awareness and inclusive built environment. Property Management, 34(5), 434–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social Policy and Institute of Policy Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China

    Yung Yau

Authors
  1. Yung Yau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yung Yau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Amita Singh

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Siri Hettige

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Yau, Y. (2023). Disaster Preparedness, Disability Awareness, and Disability Inequality: A Study of Hong Kong’s Property Management Sector. In: Singh, A. (eds) International Handbook of Disaster Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8800-3_101-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8800-3_101-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-8800-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-8800-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation