Number 3, February 2002
Building Back Better
Creating a Sustainable Community After Disaster
by Jacquelyn L. Monday
Table of Contents
About this issue of the Natural Hazards Informer
Introduction to Building Back Better: Creating a Sustainable Community After Disaster
Principles of Sustainability
Sustainability and Disaster Recovery
An Overview of Holistic Recovery
The Process
A 10-Step Process for Local Holistic Recovery
A Long-Term Outlook
Conclusion
References and Information Sources
Evaluation Form
The Natural Hazards Informer
The Natural Hazards Informer is peer-reviewed series that summarizes current knowledge about various aspects of natural hazards for practitioners, researchers, public policy makers, and others. It is distributed free to all subscribers of the Natural Hazards Observer. If you already receive the Observer, do nothing. You will automatically receive upcoming issues of the Informer.
What This Informer Does
This issue of the Informer explains current knowledge about educating the public on earthquake hazards. With minimal tailoring, principles of effective earthquake education can be transferred to public education efforts for other hazards. This Informer suggests effective approaches and offers tips for developing and implementing successful projects. Case studies and examples help to give the discussion some context, and a list of resources suggests places to go for further information.
Who Should Read It and Why
If you are concerned about the vulnerability of a community, county, or state to earthquake hazards, interested in raising the citizenry's awareness of the risk, and hopeful that people or their organizations will take steps to reduce potential losses, this Informer will give you tools and strategies for effective action. A quick review of what experience and research have taught us about past public education projects and campaigns will yield a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn't. Since time, energy and money are so frequently short, we hope to save everyone from wasting resources on ineffective approaches. Emergency managers, academic researchers, community activists, and federal or state funding agencies will find the information helpful as they create or evaluate public education initiatives on earthquakes or other natural hazards.