Architecture Commons^™

Intentionally Unsustainable Forms For Crisis Design: Planned Obsolescence, Daniel Hogan

Architecture Thesis Prep

The ShutDownDC protest that stopped traffic on Monday, September 23rd demonstrated a significant shift in the debate for climate justice. The movement targeted not only the culpable institutions but the physical infrastructures which both monumentalize and enable factors responsible for global climate change (in this case automobile infrastructure). This is a particularly relevant example of how built form not only reflects our cultural preferences for private transportation but also informs/enables the processes which are actively working against public good. In this example, road infrastructure is both a symbol and an active player in the game of continued environmental injustice.

This …

Reimagining Future Sustainable, Climate-Resilient Urban Design For Apia, Samoa: Developing Plans For A Developing Nation, Alyssa Kaewwilai

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Small island developing states are arguably the most vulnerable, exposed nations on a global scale to the harmful effects of climate change. Particularly in Samoa, an abundance of environmental, economic, and social impacts have severe impacts on both the country as a whole as well as on an individual level. This study analyzes future mitigation strategies of land use and urban design to recreate Samoa’s capital of Apia as a more climate-resilient city to encourage economic growth and to ensure the well-being of all inhabitants. This planning is based upon current challenges of Samoa driven by climate change such as …

Evaluating Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Policies On The U.S. 50 States’ Hazard Mitigation Plans, Qiao Hu

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

Climate change brings uncertain risks of climate-related natural hazards. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA 2011) has issued a policy directive to integrate climate change adaptation actions into hazard mitigation programs, policies, and plans. However, to date there has been no comprehensive empirical study to examine the extent to which climate change issues are integrated into State Hazard Mitigation Plans (SHMPs). This study develops 18 indicators to examine the extent of climate change considerations in the 50 SHMPs. The results demonstrate that these SHMPs treat climate change issues in an uneven fashion, with large variations present among the 50 …

Measuring The Adoption Of Development Management Policies As An Instrument Of Disaster Mitigation Toward Resilient Coastal Communities In Florida, Asmaul Husna

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

Coastal hazards have been known as the scariest group of hazards, monsters that threaten 39% of the nation population and in less than 10 years. With the current population growth, the monsters will harm almost half of the nation’s population (45% to be exact) and uncountable properties placed at only 17% of land area of the country. The threat of coastal hazards has never been low, but it keeps rising because no human being in this world can prevent, stop, contain or avoid the hazards from happening. But, there always are ways to lower the risk and the loss with …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

Drought Planning Research In The United States: An Overview And Outlook, Xinyu Fu, Zhenghong Tang, Jianjun Wu, Kevin Mcmillan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Drought is widely known as an insidious hazard due to its complex and unique characteristics. Drought disasters have brought tremendous economic losses and significant social and environmental impacts to communities across the globe. To further understand the hazard drought poses and provide insights into planning for drought preparedness, this article conducts a thorough literature review of drought hazard and drought planning frameworks within the United States. Two main approaches and three major forms of drought planning are discussed and summarized. Based on this review, a preliminary overview of drought planning status in the United States is presented. This study provides …