by admin | Jun 6, 2014 | Blogging, Disaster, Disaster policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
A few months ago, I was asked to speak at the 2014 annual Science Policy Conference of the American Geophysical Union, a scientific organization that has developed a growing interest in natural hazards. I agreed, and am one of four speakers on a panel that will...
by admin | May 18, 2014 | Disaster, Disaster policy, Political philosophy, Public safety, Urban Planning
As a young man from a blue-collar family, I partially worked my way through college during the summers at a chemical company near Cleveland that employed my father as a truck mechanic. If there is one thing I learned at the time, it was the value of safety and...
by admin | May 14, 2014 | Disaster, Education, Urban Planning
Opportunities exist both May 20 in Chicago, and June 18-19 in Boston, to learn more about creating resilient communities that can survive and thrive in the face of disaster. The first involves a roundtable, “Smart Systems, Resilient Regions,” hosted by the...
by admin | May 6, 2014 | Chicago, Environment, Urban Planning
Spring has sprung in Chicago, and along with it, construction progress on the Bloomingdale Trail. I can hear the hammers pounding as I write, installing guard rails at the edges of the trail. Other equipment is tearing out old rail debris and erecting access ramps....
by admin | Feb 19, 2014 | Disaster, Uncategorized, Urban Planning
I recently had the honor of serving as the guest presenter in a webinar series hosted by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska. The February 12 presentation highlighted a research report, Planning and Drought, which we produced at the...
by admin | Oct 14, 2013 | Disaster policy, Uncategorized, Urban Planning
Far too often have I heard people ask the facile question about why other people live in hazardous areas, such as along rivers that flood or coasts that suffer coastal storms. Yes, Americans do have a propensity for building in hazardous areas, and often not building...
