Unlocking the nonlinear Nexus: Accessibility of emergency resource and resident participation in flood response

Flood disasters threaten urban sustainability, requiring community involvement and resource allocation. However, research on the link between emergency resource accessibility and residents' participation willingness in flood response is lacking. To fill this gap, we surveyed 1351 respondents in Zhengzhou and used the Community Capitals Framework to explore their nonlinear associations. Results show that: 1) Perceived accessibility of emergency resources, especially for rescue forces and medical facilities, typically has a more significant impact on residents' participation willingness in flood response compared to objectively measured accessibility, which includes communication facilities, emergency administration forces, and fire station. 2) Emergency resource accessibility, both perceived and objectively measured, displays nonlinear correlations with residents' participation willingness, with objective measures revealing more pronounced patterns such as (inverted) U-shapes or approximate linearity. 3) Spatial analysis indicates that in less affected flood areas, perceived and objective emergency resource accessibility strongly boost residents' willingness to participate, while in heavily affected areas, perceived accessibility exerts a prominent inhibitory impact. This study contributes to revealing the intricate, nonlinear link between emergency resource accessibility and residents' participation willingness in flood response, underscoring the importance of tailored flood strategies addressing both subjective perceptions and objective resource allocations for bolstering urban resilience. •Examined the intricate link between the accessibility of emergency resources and residents' participation willingness in flood response.•Revealed varied patterns, like (inverted) U-shapes, in how residents' willingness to participate correlates with both perceived and measured emergency resource accessibility.•In less affected flood areas, resource accessibility boosts willingness; in heavily affected areas, perceived accessibility hampers participation.•Flood strategies must address both subjective perceptions and objective resource allocations to enhance urban resilience.