NCI working with APA and FEMA on disaster preparedness

The National Charrette Institute at MSU is a member of an American Planning Association-led team working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on planning and disaster preparedness.

Louisiana Recovery Planning Day event. Photo by Marvin Nauman/FEMA.

The National Charrette Institute at MSU is a member of an American Planning Association (APA)-led team working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on planning and disaster preparedness. The project is called Innovations in Planning and Public Engagement for Community Resilience.

The purpose of the project is to create a set of web-based tools to assist local planners in the development of disaster preparedness plans. Last fall, the APA completed phase one of the project and released a Scenario Planning Model Report.

Currently, the University of California, San Diego, another member group, is developing a framework for a community resilience scenario planning model (CRSPM) based on Community Viz.

The CRSPM will allow planners to map and analyze existing and future flooding hazards in an urban neighborhood. The model will help communities develop well-informed planning strategies to address the risk of inland flooding at neighborhood and site scales.

The NCI Charrette System will be the community involvement framework for the project. The tools will be tested on a pilot project in Downers Grove, IL.

“Using a charrette as part of the disaster preparedness process could help communities come together and better prepare for these types of events, and be a step ahead when it comes time for the recovery efforts,” said Bill Lennertz, founder of NCI.

The NCI will assist in facilitating a multiple-day community workshop using the CRSPM early next year.

Ahead of that event, NCI is conducting the NCI Charrette System Certificate training at the APA national headquarters in Chicago, IL, Oct. 24-27, 2017. Register and learn more at Chicago Public Trainings.

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