[PDF] Lake Mary (Images of America) by John Hope in Arts-Photography

Description

How can we plan and design stronger communities? From New Orleans to Galveston to the Jersey Shore; communities struck by natural disasters struggle to recover long after the first responders have left. Globally; the average annual number of natural disasters has more than doubled since 1980. These catastrophes are increasing in number as well as in magnitude; causing greater damage as we experience rising sea levels and other effects of climate change.Communities can reduce their vulnerability to disaster by becoming more resilientmdash;to not only bounce back more readily from disasters but to grow stronger; more socially cohesive; and more environmentally responsible. To be truly resilient; disaster preparation and response must consider all populations in the community. By bringing together natural hazards planning and community planning to consider vulnerabilities; more resilient and equitable communities are achievable.In Planning for Community Resilience the authors describe an inclusive process for creating disaster-resilient communities. Based on their recovery work after Hurricane Ike in Galveston; Texas; they developed a process that relies on the Disaster Impacts Model. This handbook guides any community through the process of determining their level of hazard exposure; physical vulnerability; and social vulnerability with the goal of determining the best planning strategy.Planning for Community Resilience will be invaluable to professionals working to protect their community from disturbance; including city planners; elected officials; floodplain managers; natural hazard managers; planning commissioners; local business leaders; and citizen organizers.