A new training opportunity for post-disaster development planning: Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning Workshop A one-day training workshop for urban and regional planners, emergency managers and citizens interested in planning for building more resilient communities after a disaster. This workshop will provide an introduction to post-disaster redevelopment planning, its benefits and the process for developing a plan; […]
Tag Archives | planning
An Argument for Not Returning to Normal [Editorial]
Posted on September 20, 2010
An interesting editorial by Global Ethics professor Tom Sorell on why our natural post-disaster instinct to return things to normal is so often exactly the wrong response, and why we instead ought to work to “usher in discontinuity.” The problem with returning to “normal” is obvious: we’re often returning to the same conditions that put […]
Webinar Series Includes Presentation on "Sea Level Rise and Property Rights"
Posted on September 8, 2010
The International Submerged Lands Management has announced its new conference dates. Unlike most conferences, this one takes place on your computer, so those of us with limited travel budgets can still participate. You can find a schedule of all the conference’s events on their website (and we’ll add the lot to the StormSmart Coasts Calendar), […]
New Funding & Technical Assistance Opportunity for Local Planning
Posted on August 17, 2010
The Model Forest Policy Program is offering an interesting-sounding new funding and technical assistance opportunity for rural communities looking for help with their land-use planning. Here’s how they’re describing the program on their website: The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is now accepting applications for 2011 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This […]
Preliminary Flood Maps Released for Collier County, Naples and Others
Posted on August 16, 2010
From a FEMA press release: Collier County and the cities of Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City have received updated, preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Staff from the respective communities are now reviewing the maps for accuracy. A series of public informational meetings is scheduled for […]
New Study to Predict Economic and Ecological Impact of Oil Spill & Sea Level Rise on Panhandle
Posted on August 13, 2010
A new University of Central Florida study will examine how rising sea level could harm estuaries and coastal communities along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama and Mississippi coasts. The study may also help project impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill. The team, led by Scott C. Hagen, (associate professor of Civil Engineering), also includes […]
3ft of Freeboard? I'll Take 12ft!
Posted on July 19, 2010
After Hurricane Ike bashed a hole in their roof and left their first floor uninhabitable, FEMA experts recommended that Galveston (TX) residents Matt and Lauren Johnson elevate their home 3′ above the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. The Johnsons went for 12′ instead. “Even if it costs us more now, whatever costs […]
Editorial Advises Better Planning and Building, NOT the Ike Dike
Posted on May 28, 2010
A new Houston Chronicle article argues that building the so-called “Ike Dike” will put more, not less people and property at great risk, and that the best way to protect property from hazards is to keep them out of hazardous areas. In “Forget the Ike Dike, let’s improve building methods” Texas A&M professor John Jacob […]
Texas Town Tightens Development Rules
Posted on May 12, 2010
The City Council of Galveston, Texas recently approved new beach-front construction regulations. The new rules push new development 75 feet back from the north toe of dunes, or 350 feet from the mean high-water line, whichever line is farther landward. They are seen locally as a compromise with some wanting stricter regulations while others did […]
New FIRMs Tested in Massachusetts
Posted on March 22, 2010
The Boston Globe has an interesting article on how the updated National Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) did in last week’s floods there. In a word: well. This wasn’t good news to many who were sure the the updates, which had designated their properties as high flood risk, were wrong. Some were even fighting to […]