Little Cities of Black Diamonds: How Coal's Legacy Shapes Social Disconnectedness and Extreme Weather Vulnerability in Appalachian Ohio

Background and Purpose

Neoliberalism prioritizes capital gains over caring relationships among humans and between humans and the natural world, contributing to the concurrent crises of environmental injustice, climate change-induced extreme weather, and the growing epidemic of social disconnectedness. In rural Appalachia, the legacy of extractive industries like coal mining, along with unique social, economic, and environmental factors, such as mountainous topography, shape the region's unique vulnerability and resilience to the cumulative challenges of social disconnectedness and extreme weather. Guided by multisolving and relationality, two relational frameworks rooted in Indigenous knowledge, this participatory study engaged community members to explore how the legacy of industrial exploitation and pollution, primarily from coal mining, informs present-day social connectedness and extreme weather vulnerability among residents in one Appalachian county in Ohio.

Methods

Participatory Photo Mapping was used to collect data in Athens County, Ohio, from May to September 2024. With the support of multisectoral community partners, older (aged 65+) and emerging (aged 18-29) adult residents were recruited using maximum variation sampling. The study included 16 participants: seven emerging adults and nine older adults. Data collection involved photographing social connectedness assets and challenges, creating community maps from the photo geodata, and engaging in photo-and-map elicitation interviews and focus groups. Data analysis included thematic and comparative analyses, followed by the integration of the different data types.

Results

Community-level determinants of social connectedness and extreme weather adaptive capacity were impacted by the legacy of extractive industries. Ecological assets, which participants noted as key for social connection and adaptive capacity, were threatened by abandoned mines and pollutants. The coal industry's boom-and-bust economic cycle led to the closure of community hubs, transforming many villages into "ghost towns” and reducing opportunities for social connection and community capacity building. Participants also noted the shift from coal fields to the carceral state, known as “the mining to prison pipeline. Additionally, institutional mistrust and pollution perceptions, combined with financial constraints, negatively impacted social connectedness and coping during hot weather. Despite these challenges, participants described a culture of community self-reliance and care, including mutual aid initiatives, which helped address daily needs and address gaps during extreme weather emergencies by redistributing resources.

Conclusions and Implications

Neoliberalism’s prioritization of productivity and economic output over community well-being contributes to the intersecting oppression of humans and the natural world. The history of socio-environmental exploitation in Athens County, Ohio, strains social connectedness and extreme weather adaptive capacity through ecological pollution, depletion of social infrastructure, the mining-to-prison pipeline, and institutional mistrust. Despite, and possibly influenced by, this legacy of exploitation, community members have adopted mutual aid and Collective Survival Strategies to support one another. Social workers can raise awareness of the intersecting challenges and root causes of environmental injustice, social disconnection, and extreme weather vulnerability. They can spearhead cross-disciplinary initiatives with community planners, local governments, and public health professionals to create inclusive social infrastructure and advocate for ongoing environmental and public health protections. Findings emphasize the need for proactive measures and policies to dismantle overlapping oppressive systems and equitably safeguard communities.