Tuesday, April 13, 2021 | 11:00 a.m. to Noon MT

Implementing Mitigation Near and Far: U.S. States, New Zealand, and Applied Research

Mitigation

Webinar Description:

Hazard mitigation takes many forms in the United States and around the world. This webinar will examine the capacity and processes that communities use to implement mitigation strategies from two perspectives—that of state hazard mitigation officers in the United States and of local officials in New Zealand.

Using the results of a survey of U.S. state hazard mitigation officers, speaker Gavin Smith will provide insight on how to build the capacity needed to effectively implement Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Then, by tapping into to a study comparing housing buyout programs in the New Zealand and the United States, Smith will discuss international strategies to be learned from the development and implementation of such programs.

Speaker:

Gavin Smith, North Carolina State University
Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Natural Hazards Center Overview Slides
Webinar Slides


Resources:

A National Evaluation of State and Territory Roles in Hazard Mitigation: Building Local Capacity to Implement FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants

A National Evaluation of State Roles in Hazard Mitigation: Building Local Capacity to Implement FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants

Spend to Save: Investigating the property acquisition process for risk reduction in Aotearoa New Zealand


Gavin Smith

Gavin Smith is a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on hazard mitigation, disaster recovery, and climate change adaptation, with an emphasis on integrating research and practice through deep community engagement. Smith is currently working on an assessment of the state of disaster-resilient design education at U.S. universities, a national survey on how states build local government capacity to implement hazard mitigation grants, and a comparative assessment of acquisition programs to address hazard-prone housing in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.