by admin | Jun 25, 2017 | Books, Disaster, Disaster policy, Natural Hazards, Public policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
As an urban planner, my entry into the world of disasters has been through the twin portals of public policy and planning practice—how we frame the priorities of government and how we carry out the tasks of community planning. One thing I have learned from years of...
by admin | Jun 18, 2017 | Books, Climate, Disaster, Environment, Geography, History, Natural Hazards, Resilience, Science, Urban Planning, Water
I was never a New York native, but I did not feel entirely alien, either, when I returned for the first of four visits to the area in January 2013, following Superstorm Sandy. My father lived in Queens most of his life and left only when my mother, who was from...
by admin | Jun 4, 2017 | Blogging, Careers, Climate, Disaster, Economics, Government, Natural Hazards, Urban Planning
This is a story both personal and political. On May 31, the American Planning Association hosted a wonderful retirement party for my last day on the job as Manager of the Hazards Planning Center. I have spent much of the past quarter-century helping to make natural...
by admin | May 11, 2017 | Disaster, Disaster policy, Floodplain management, Floodplain management, Government, Natural Hazards, Resilience, Urban Planning
Earlier this year, the American Planning Association’s Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Planning Division, in cooperation with Texas A&M University, sponsored a student paper contest for students in urban planning programs across the country. The papers...
by admin | Mar 5, 2017 | Disaster, Environment, Floodplain management, Floodplain management, Geography, Infrastructure, Natural Hazards, Resilience, Urban Planning
It has taken a long while in our modern society for the notion to take hold that some of the best solutions to reduce the impact of natural hazards can be found in nature itself. Perhaps it is the high cost of continuing to use highly engineered solutions to protect...
by admin | Feb 4, 2017 | Activism, Books, Climate, Disaster, Drought, Industry, Natural Hazards, Resilience, Science, Water, Wildfire
In times of political hostility to scientific truth, knowledgeable people sometimes wonder how we can progress without federal support for important initiatives such as adaptation to climate change. The answer, in a vibrant democracy, is that the truth often bubbles...
