3. Participatory Processes In Disaster Recovery
- Where To Find Information -
Training Courses and Workshops
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Management Institute, National
Emergency Training Center. Emmitsburg, Maryland. http://www.fema.gov/emi [accessed
June 15, 2001] (301) 447-1035.
- "Project Impact: Building Consensus in Disaster-Resistant Communities." Federal
Emergency Management Agency Course E380.
This course is for the person(s) in an organization with responsibility for coordinating and
implementing the Project Impact initiative in their jurisdiction. Participants will learn and
practice the facilitation skills necessary to work with officials and stakeholders in a
community to promote the development of a disaster-resilient community.
Organizations
Many private consulting firms offer expertise in facilitation and consensus-building in a post-disaster or planning situation. A community's federal agency contacts--at the Corps of
Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park
Service, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency--would be the best source for specific
referrals to an area company.
City of Denton.
The public involvement section of the Denton Comprehensive Plan lays out fundamentals of
public participation.
See http://www.cityofdenton.com/planning/tdp_intro.html [accessed July 20, 2001]
Creighton and Creighton.
The Creighton and Creighton website provides an annotated list of links about public
involvement.
See http://www.creightonandcreighton.com/ [accessed July 20, 2001]
Community Development Society.
See the publication, "What is Participatory Research?" for a discussion of public participation
and some guiding principles.
See http://www.comm-dev.org/par-is.htm [accessed July 20, 2001]
Disaster Resistant Neighborhoods. "Building Disaster Resistant Neighborhoods Handbook."
This handbook outlines a step-by-step action plan, with examples, to assist planners in working
with neighborhood associations to help them become better prepared for the next disaster. Posted
on the link along with the handbook are a variety of marketing tools to help promote the
program.
See http://www.tallytown.com/redcross [accessed September 21, 2001]
Highlander Education and Research Center.
This group specializes in participatory education and action research and involving stakeholders.
See http://www.hrec.org [accessed July 20, 2001]
National Park Service.
The National Park Service through its Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program helps
local coalitions develop strategic plans, identify potential sources of funding and builds
partnerships to achieve goals determined by the community. The National Park Service becomes
involved in a project only at the request of citizen groups or governmental agencies. The lead
project partner(s) must write a letter of request to the Rivers and Trails Program. Send
applications to the Manager of Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of your
National Park Service Regional Office.
See http://www.nps.gov/legacy/regions.html [accessed September 21, 2001]
Partnerships Online. "Participation Guide."
This online guide, "The Guide to Effective Participation," was designed for community activists
and professionals in the U.K. but has many useful resources for those in the United States
interested in fostering community participation as well.
See http://www.partnerships.org.uk/guide/index.htm [accessed June 15, 2001]
Videos, CD-ROMs, and DVDs
Taking the Initiative. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Management
Institute. 2000. Emmitsburg, MD.
This 20-minute video shows how a neighborhood, two small towns, and a business owner took
responsibility for and got organized to adopt sustainability principles and techniques in coping
with hazards. The three separate instances, all in California, illustrate participatory processes,
taking initiative, looking at the economic benefits of hazard mitigation (in one case, elevating a
restaurant), incorporating livability components into a flood protection measure, and protecting
the local environment and habitat. This video is available from the Emergency Management
Institute at 1-800-238-3358. Ask for the "Disaster-Resistant Jobs" video.
Multi-objective Mitigation Planning. National Park Service and FEMA. 1995. Denver, CO.
The National Park Service and FEMA produced this18-minute video of the Vermillion Basin,
South Dakota, participatory planning process that discusses the experience from the perspective
of both agency and community participants. The video is available from FEMA Region VIII,
P.O. Box 25267, Bldg. 710, Denver Federal Center, Denver CO 80225-0267.
Books, Articles, and Papers
Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). 1996. Using Multi-Objective Management
to Reduce Flood Losses in Your Watershed. Madison, WI: Association of State Floodplain
Managers. 72 pp. Abstract available at http://www.floods.org/PDF%20files/PUBSLIST.pdf.
This publication explores planning and implementation techniques for multi-objective watershed
management. It provides a general introduction to multi-objective management and the planning
process that helps a community select the flood-loss reduction measures most suitable to its
situation. It explains how to define problems and goals, build partnerships, combine needs and
solutions creatively, and begin formal implementation procedures. Both riverine and coastal
flood watersheds are examined, involving subjects such as fish and wildlife issues, water supply,
housing improvement, transportation, and lifelines.
North Carolina Emergency Management Division and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
2000. Hazard Mitigation in North Carolina: Measuring Success. Raleigh, NC.
To accelerate the institutionalization of hazard mitigation in North Carolina, the North Carolina
Emergency Management Division established the Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative, a long-term program to build local capacity to implement mitigation policies and programs in
communities across the state. Through a series of case studies, this study documents losses
avoided as a result of the implementation of a wide range of mitigation measures, including
elevations and the acquisition and relocation or demolition of floodprone properties.
Picou, J. Steven. 2000. "The 'Talking Circle' as Sociological Practice: Cultural Transformation
of Chronic Disaster Impacts." Sociological Practice: A Journal of Clinical and Applied
Sociology 2(2):66-76.
This article presents a description of a culturally sensitive mitigation strategy, the "Talking
Circle," and its application to Alaska Natives negatively impacted by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil
spill. Talking Circles are a traditional social activity for Alaska Natives and this activity was
organized and implemented by members of the Village of Eyak in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
The two-day event resulted in many testimonies about personal experiences with the oil spill.
Post-Talking Circle activities by Eyak Village members indicate increased cultural awareness
and political mobilization. These findings suggest that this mitigation strategy promoted cultural
consciousness among victims experiencing chronic disaster impacts and resulting in a
"transforming activity" for the Native Village of Eyak.
Schwab, Jim, Kenneth C. Topping, Charles C. Eadie, Robert E. Deyle, and Richard A. Smith.
1998. Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction. PAS Report No. 483/484.
Chicago, IL: American Planning Association. 346 pp.
This document helps community leaders and planners educate their constituents on how
informed decisions and choices can affect the rebuilding process and yield a safer, more
sustainable community. This report introduces planners to their roles in post-disaster
reconstruction and recovery, and provides guidance on how to plan for post-disaster
reconstruction side by side with all other players involved. A key theme throughout this report is
to rebuild to create a more disaster-resilient community. The report contains many references to
technical resources.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. 1994. Multi-Objective Flood Mitigation Plan
Vermillion River Basin South Dakota. Denver: Federal Emergency Management Agency,
State of South Dakota, U.S. National Park Service.
The 1993 Midwest floods renewed interest on the part of government agencies, private groups,
and individuals in finding ways to avoid or reduce the impacts of future disasters through
permanent, low-cost solutions. This approach requires an examination of the relationships
between natural systems (precipitation, drainage, sedimentation, vegetation, etc.) and human
systems (water control structures, public policies and funding, agriculture, transportation, etc.) in
order to make them more compatible. This document describes a multi-objective planning
workshop held in Parker, South Dakota, in June 1994 to address flood mitigation. It describes the
Vermillion River Basin and its flood history; the workshop; flood hazard management, drainage,
and transportation in the area; economic development and sustainability, cultural and historic
resources, and housing; fish and wildlife populations and habitat; outdoor recreation and open
space; water quality and erosion; and implementation of the plan.
Additional Reading
Birkland, T.A. 1997. After Disaster. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
City of Denton, Planning and Development Department, Comprehensive Planning Section. 1999.
The Denton Plan 1999-2020. Denton, TX: City of Denton.
Community Development Society. What Is Participatory Research? http://www.comm-dev.org/par-is.htm
Cornwall, A. and R. Jewkes. 1995. "What Is Participatory Research?" Soc. Sci. Med. 41:1667-1676.
Cox, Bob, Sherryl Zahn, and Duane Holmes. 1995. "A Multiobjective Flood Hazard Mitigation
Planning Process for the Vermillion River Basin, South Dakota." Pp. 132-135 in From the
Mountains to the Sea--Developing Local Capability. Proceedings of the 19th annual
conference of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. Special Publication 31. Boulder,
CO: Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center.
Creighton, J.L. 1983. "Identifying Publics/staff Identification Techniques." In Creighton, J.L.,
Delli Priscoli, J. and Dunning, C.M., eds., IWR Research Report 82-R1. Fort Belvoir, VA:
Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:199-206.
Daniels, S.E. and G.B. Walker. 1996. "Collaborative Learning: Improving Public Deliberations
in Ecosystem-based Management." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 16:71-102.
Dore, J. 1998. Step by Step to Facilitating your Community's Public Participation Process. The
Token Creek Watershed Project Case Study. Madison, WI: The Dane County Natural
Heritage Foundation.
Environmental Protection Agency. 1997. People, Places, and Partnerships. A Progress Report
on Community-Based Environmental Protection. EPA-100-R-97-003. Washington, D.C.:
Office of the Administrator.
Found, W.C. 1997. "Evaluating Participatory Research." Knowledge and Policy 10:109-122.
Hoff, Marie D. 1998. Sustainable Community Development. Studies in Economic,
Environmental, and Cultural Revitalization. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
Holmes, D. n.d. A Multi-Objective Workshop Planning Process. Denver, CO: Stewardship and
Partnership Team, Rocky Mountain Support Office, Intermountain Region, National Park
Service.
Holmes, D. 1996. "A Multi-Objective Workshop Planning Process." Pp. 188-199 in Proceedings
of the Conference on Arid West Floodplain Management Issues. Madison, WI: Association of
State Floodplain Managers.
Kaner, S. et al. 1996. The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. Gabriola Island,
B.C.: New Society Publishers.
Kiser, L.L. and E. Ostrom. 1982. "The Three Worlds of Action; a Metatheoretical Synthesis of
Institutional Approaches." In Ostrom, E., ed. Strategies of political inquiry. Beverly Hills,
CA: Sage Publications: 179-222.
Krajeski, Richard L. and Kristina J. Peterson. 1999. "'But She Is a Woman and This Is a Man's
Job': Lessons for Participatory Research and Participatory Recovery." International Journal
of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 17(1): 123-130.
McShane, John H. 1992. "Integrating Provisions of the National Flood Insurance Program with
Multi-objective River Corridor Management." Pp. 200-203 in Multi-Objective Approaches to
Floodplain Management. Special Publication No. 26. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards
Research and Applications Information Center.
North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. 1999. Hazard Mitigation
Successes. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Emergency Management Division.
Oleari, Kenoli. 2000. "Making Your Job Easier: Using Whole System Approaches to Involve the
Community in Sustainable Planning and Development." Public Management (December):4-10.
Platt, R.H. 1999. "Natural Hazards of the San Francisco Bay Mega-city: Trial by Earthquake,
Wind, and Fire." In Mitchell, J.K., ed. Crucibles of Hazard. Tokyo: United Nations
University Press: 335-374.
Plein, L.C., K. Green, and D.G. William. 1998. "Organic Planning: a New Approach to Public
Participation in Local Governance." The Social Science Journal 35:509-523.
R. D. Flanagan & Associates. 1994. Tulsa's Floodplain and Stormwater Management Program.
Tulsa, OK. 85 pp.
Sanoff, H. 2000. Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
Steelman, T.A. and W. Ascher. 1997. "Public Involvement Methods in Natural Resource
Policymaking: Advantages, Disadvantages and Tradeoffs." Policy Sciences 30:71-90.
Stoecker, R. 1999. "Are Academics Irrelevant?" American Behavioral Scientist 42:840-854.
Thomas, J.C. 1995. Public Participation in Public Decisions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
Topping, K.C. 1992. Oakland Hills Fire Prevention and Suppression Benefit Assessment District
Report. Unpublished. 46 pp.
Wacker, C., A. Viaro, and M. Wolf. 1999. "Partnerships for Urban Environmental Management:
the Roles of Urban Authorities, Researchers and Civil Society." Environment & Urbanization
11:113-125.
Watson, L., V. Lee, P. Pogue, J. Almeida, H. Araujo, P.F. Mowrey, R. Rendine, R. Lietao, and J.
Condon. 1998. Strategy for Reducing Risks from Natural Hazards in Pawtucket, Rhode
Island: a Multi-hazard Mitigation Strategy. Narragansett, RI: Rhode Island Sea Grant.
Zahn, S., B. Cox, and D. Holmes. 1994. Multi-Objective Flood Mitigation Plan Vermillion River
Basin South Dakota. Denver, CO: Federal Emergency Management Agency, State of South
Dakota, National Park Service.
