Assessing the Quality of State and Local Hazard Mitigation Plans in the United States

Mon. 2:00-3:30 p.m., Interlocken B

This panel will address policy implications and solutions needed to address weaknesses found in state and local hazard mitigation plans using findings from the first four years of a six-year study. The study, Analysis of Federal Mitigation Policy in the U.S.: Mitigation Plans, Land Use, Civic Engagement, and Local Capacity, evaluates the effects of the federal Disaster Mitigation Act on local government decisions to incorporate land use policy actions into local mitigation plans.

The panel will begin with study researchers giving an overview of the project followed by practitioners who will respond to the findings with their own personal experience and observations. Both researchers and practitioners will comment on policy recommendations they believe might address weaknesses and build on the strengths found in state and local hazard mitigation plans.

Gavin Smith, Moderator
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Philip Berke, Panelist
University of North Carolina

Ward Lyles, Panelist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Kathleen Smith, Panelist
Federal Emergency Management Agency

Darrin Punchard, Panelist
AECOM

Organizer: Gavin Smith, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill