Anchored in place, driven by risk: How place attachment amplifies the household flood adaptation

Rising flood risks present significant threats to communities globally. This study examines the influence of risk perception and place attachment on the adoption of household adaptive behaviors in flood-prone regions of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The study employed latent profile analysis on data from 304 households, revealing four distinct profiles categorized by risk perception and levels of place attachment. The findings reveal that place attachment acts as an amplifier of adaptive behaviors, particularly when combined with high risk perception. Even in contexts of low risk perception, place attachment encouraged certain adaptive behaviors like insurance adoption. However, its effectiveness varied across socioeconomic contexts and types of adaptive measures, with the strongest effects observed for structural adaptation measures. The study demonstrates that combining strong place attachment with high risk perception is particularly effective in motivating costly protective actions. These findings suggest that flood risk management strategies should incorporate place-based elements alongside traditional risk communication approaches to better promote community resilience. This research contributes to understanding how such emotional connections to place can enhance flood adaptation. • Place attachment amplifies flood adaptation behaviors, with the strongest effects in high risk contexts. • Environmental threats strengthen place bonds and enhance collective adaptation capacity. • Strong place attachment can increase vulnerability by keeping people in high-risk areas. • Risk communication needs to integrate place-based elements with traditional hazard information. • Place-based strategies must consider both enabling and constraining aspects of attachment.