Full Citation

Title: Municipal Capacity to Respond to COVID-19: Implications for Improving Community Resilience in Maine

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2021

ISBN:

ISSN: 2643-959X

DOI: 10.53558/FRPI9064

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Abstract: In this article, we explore how 50 Maine municipalities communicated their response to COVID-19 in the earliest stages of the pandemic. Our study answers two questions: (1) What information and resources did Maine municipalities communicate about COVID-19? and (2) What characterizes a more robust communication response? Analyzing digital communications from March through July 2020, we found almost all municipalities in our sample communicated basic information about altered town operations. Some towns provided more robust responses that evolved over time and included nuanced messages about COVID-19, a sense of community, and collaborations with partners. While smaller, more rural municipalities may have fewer residents and resources, many showed a larger-than-expected capacity to pivot quickly and rally together to respond to COVID-19 and communicate about that response.

Url: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol30/iss2/8/

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Levesque, Vanessa R.; Johnson, Eileen; Bell, Kathleen

Periodical (Full): Maine Policy Review

Issue: 2

Volume: 30

Pages: 62-71

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Health, Housing and Segregation, Land Use/Urban Organization

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