Household Risk Perceptions Around Climate Change: Manville, NJ
Leads: Nuzhat Fatema, Manasa Bollempalli
Supporting Researcher: Amy Li
Counselors: Victoria Ramenzoni, DeeDee Bennet Gayle, Elisabeth Gilmore
This project explores how suburban households in Manville, NJ perceive climate risks and make choices about adaptation. The team uses in-depth, community-based research methods such as interviews and time spent in neighborhoods to learn directly from residents about their challenges (e.g. flooding and heat waves) and decision-making. This approach goes beyond traditional surveys to capture the social and cultural context behind people’s choices. Collaborations with local groups, such as the Manville Public Library, help the team strengthen community ties. The team investigates what factors influence household choices, especially when families are dealing with overlapping social challenges like financial stress . This research aims to bring local experiences and knowledge into climate planning so that policies and solutions may be more fair and effective. It also offers valuable lessons for other researchers about the opportunities and challenges of doing place-based, inclusive research.
MACH researchers, Nuzhat Fatema and Manasa Bollempalli, assisted by Amy Li, lead this initiative in Manville, NJ. To learn about other household risk perception research efforts, check out these other MACH projects:
Products
Publications
Bollempalli, M., Fatema, N., Bass, K., Adams, A., Dadson, Y. A., Gilmore, E., ... & Ramenzoni, V. (2025). From transactional to transformative: evolving research practices through mutual aid collaboration. Climate Risk Management, 100767.
DOI: 10.1016/j.crm.2025.100767
Bollempalli, M., Fatema, N., Li, A., Bass, K., Adams, A., Gilmore, E., Bennett-Gayle, D., & Ramenzoni, V. (2025). Mutual Aid As Climate Adaptation. Weather Matters.
https://www.weathermatters.net/mutual-aid-as-climate-adaptation
Presentations
Fatema, N., Bollempalli, M., Li, A., Bennett Gayle, D., Gilmore, E., Ramenzoni, V. (2025). Urban Flooding and Household Adaptation: Why Decision-Making Goes Beyond Technical Solutions in Manville, New Jersey [Poster]. American Geophysical Union Winter Meeting 2025. New Orleans, LA.
https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1888262
Bollempalli, M., Fatema, N., Dadson, Y.A., Hunter, R., Gilmore, E., Bennett Gayle, D., Ramenzoni, V. (2024). Just and Equitable Transformations in the Northeast U.S: a future for whom? Sustainability Transformations Symposium. National Sustainability Society. University of Seattle. Seattle, WA.
https://www.thenss.org/_files/ugd/ea29da_41ddbb93b7c349a0a2f4d5d438d59022.pdf
Fatema, N., Ramenzoni, V., Bennett Gayle, D., Gilmore, E., Bollempalli, M., Dadson, Y.A. (2024). Household Decision-Making on Climate Adaptation Among Low-Income Residents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey [Poster]. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2024. Washington, D.C.
https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/1733164
Research Lead Videos
MACH in a Minute: Climate Research Project Brief from Nuzhat Fatema, Rutgers University (NJ)
Supporting Researcher Videos
MACH in a Minute: Climate Research Project Brief from Amy Li, Rutgers University (NJ)