Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Community Participation In Disaster Planning And The Expectation Gap: Analysis And Recommendations, Phillip Sperry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the expectation gap and how it relates to the field of emergency management. As disasters become more commonplace, many citizens have high expectations of their governments, which results in a lack of individual disaster preparation. This thesis analyzed the current state of community education and engagement programs, use of best practices by governments and inter-agency cooperation and partnerships. The research consisted of fifteen interviews with emergency management professionals representing local, state, and federal government as well as the private sector. The results show limited public participation, as well as issues with crisis communications systems. Over 80% of …