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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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BUILDING AND MEASURING
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Actions for Communities and the
Gulf Research Program

Committee on Measuring Community Resilience

Office of Special Projects

Policy and Global Affairs

A Consensus Study Report of

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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the Gulf Research Program (Award No. 1-Aug2016-02). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the view of the organization that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-48972-0
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25383.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

Image

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

This report is dedicated to the memory of Chris Elfring, inaugural executive director of the Gulf Research Program.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

COMMITTEE ON MEASURING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

THAD ALLEN (Co-Chair), Senior Executive Advisor, Booz Allen Hamilton

GERALD E. GALLOWAY, JR. (Co-Chair), Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park

MICHAEL BECK, Lead Marine Scientist, The Nature Conservancy

ANITA CHANDRA, Vice President and Director, Social and Economic Well-Being, RAND Corporation

ERIN CORYELL, Program Officer, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

SUSAN L. CUTTER, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography, University of South Carolina

ANN-MARGARET ESNARD, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Public Management and Policy, Georgia State University

HOWARD FRUMKIN, Head of Our Planet, Our Health, Wellcome Trust

MELANIE GALL, Research Professor, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program, Arizona State University

MAUREEN LICHTVELD, Professor and Chair, Freeport McMoRan Chair of Environmental Policy; Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine

CARLOS MARTÍN, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center, Urban Institute

CHRIS POLAND, Consulting Engineer, Chris D. Poland Consulting Engineer

LIESEL RITCHIE, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Oklahoma State University

KATHRYN SULLIVAN, Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Study Staff

CHARLENE MILLIKEN, Study Director

MAGGIE ESCH, Research Associate

JAMIE BIGLOW, Research Associate (until December 2017)

LAUREN ALEXANDER AUGUSTINE, Director of Office of Special Projects, Director of Resilient America Program

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

Preface

Over the last two decades, the nation has witnessed the devastation brought by major natural and human-caused disasters on our communities. Government leaders at all levels have begun to embrace the concept of resilience as a means to enhance their communities’ ability to withstand and recover from such shocks. Site-specific conditions and attributes—referred to in this report as chronic stressors or pre-existing conditions—shape the intensity of the impact of an event and drive local decisions around building community resilience.

The committee’s study process included visits to several places known to have made investments in resilience. These on-the-ground conversations uncovered a wide range of interpretation of resilience and revealed a set of steps that local decision makers take to identify their risks, establish achievable risk mitigation goals, and measure progress against goals that are most important to their communities. These conversations also showed that resilience takes on highly localized dimensions, and as such, community resilience must be addressed in the context of local and pre-existing conditions and circumstances. At the same time, these community discussions revealed common, uniting themes.

Given local variability in community priorities, needs, and approaches for resilience, this report recognizes that every community faces unique challenges and must tailor relevant and achievable resilience goals and means to measure progress toward those goals. Several scorecards and how-to manuals exist that purport to measure issues of resilience for all communities. They address a wide variety of resilience activities and offer insights into carrying out the activities and measuring progress, although their efficacy is unknown.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program (GRP) has a unique opportunity to facilitate the maturation

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

of resilience programs in the Gulf region through education, facilitation, and continuing research. With its sizable endowment and its 25-year timeline, the GRP is resourced to develop, implement, and measure resilience in its purview. This report lays out a framework for any community to take on its community resilience and monitor its progress; it also offers a specific approach for the GRP to do the same.

Throughout the study process, the committee received invaluable guidance and support from the GRP. This guidance and support began at our first meeting when the GRP’s executive director, Ms. Chris Elfring, shared her goals and objectives for this unique, long-term program. The untimely death of Ms. Elfring in 2018 was not only a blow to the program itself, but also a significant loss to all those who knew her and profited by her wisdom. The committee has dedicated this report to her memory.

Finally, the committee owes much to the untiring efforts of Dr. Lauren Alexander Augustine, director of the Office of Special Projects and the Resilient America Program; Dr. Charlene Milliken, the study director; and Dr. Maggie Esch, research associate. Their collective intellectual acumen, organizational skills, writing abilities, collaborative temperament, and willingness to put in exceptionally long hours brought the report together and kept us focused on our mission.

Adm. Thad W. Allen, co-chair
Dr. Gerald E. Galloway, Jr., co-chair

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

Acknowledgments

For the past 10 years, community resilience has been a growing theme in the national dialogue. Resilience-related research, programs, and other efforts have explored resilience across a range of scales (from the individual through global levels) and topics (from infrastructure to ecosystems to human health). Yet, communities continue to grapple with ways to measure how resilient they are now and how to track progress toward their resilience goals. To better understand the current state of resilience measurement science and practice, the committee assessed 33 resilience measurement efforts. In addition to drawing from its own expertise, the committee conferred with community stakeholders and experts, who provided invaluable information to help the committee better understand how measurement work is advancing across the United States and provided insights into how communities at the local, state, and regional levels are taking action toward resilience.

The Committee on Measuring Community Resilience gratefully acknowledges all of the local stakeholders who met with the committee to discuss resilience in their communities. The committee warmly thanks everyone who contributed their expertise, insights, and wisdom to this study, with a special thanks to:

David Abramson, Emily Accamando, Lisa Adler, Brent Anderson, Laura Armstrong, Sarah Babcock, Chuck Barney, Tom Barry, Jainey Bavishki, Nancy Beers, Sanjaya Bhatia, Nathan Bird, Garcia Bodley, Andrew Brenner, Michell Brown, Kelly Butler, Charmaine Caccioppi, Jeffrey Carney, Laurence Carter, Samuel Carter, Tommy Carver, Andrew Castaldi, Stephen Cauffman, Maretta Champagne, Brandy Christian, Craig Colten, Austin Coomer, Mac Cowand, Robert Davis, Joshua DeFlorio, Bailey DeRouen, Frank Duke, Michael Dunaway, Projjal Dutta, Jeffrey Elder, Norm Eng, Lynn Englum, Ron Erickson Sr., Sandy

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
×

Eslinger, Thomas H. Falgout, Matt Fannin, Andrée L. Fant, Pat Forbes, Mark Ford, Robin Forman, Andrea Galinski, Rowdy Gaudet, Brian Geller, Jarred Genova, Monika Gerhart, Sam Gibson, William Gilchrist, Paul Goodian, Katherine Grieg, Jimmy Guidry, John Guidry, Randy Hartmann, John Headland, Jeff Hebert, Scott Hemmerling, Latoya Holston, Rodney Jackson, Dev Jani, Mark Jernigan, Calvin Johnson, Tonya Jones, Kalyan Keo, John Kiefer, Mary Kimball, Adam Knapp, Chris Knotts, Constantine E. Kontokosta, Steven Koonin, Aubry Kyle, Richard Larrabee, Daniel Le, Danita Leblanc, Erin Lee, Zachery LeMel, David Lessinger, Everett Lewis, Terry Lightheart, Mark Lowery, Amber Madden, Tony Mallini, Michael Manning, Camille Manning-Broome, Ryan Mast, Thomas McCorkle, James McGowan, Laura Mellem, Aaron Miller, Corey Miller, David Morris, Josh Moskowitz, Stephen Murphy, Matt Nault, Tuan Nguyen, Ritchie Nordstrom, Cindy O’Neal, Kari O’Neill, Michael Olivier, David Perkes, Allytra Perryman, Mutarika Pruksapong, William Raisch, Kali Rapp Roy, Denise Reed, Chele Rider, Robert Rivers, Otis Rolley, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Andrew Salkin, Mathew Sanders, Susan Sanders, Vinita Saxena, Jo Scheuer, Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, Ya-Sin Shabazz, Peggy Shepard, Ameneé Siahpush, Pat Skinner, Mike Smith, Lois Smyth, William Solecki, Joe Spraggins, Charles Sutcliffe, LaDon Swann, Phyllis Swift Hawk, Raphael Tapia, Ginni Tran, Robert Twilley, Tosa Two Heart, Donald Veals, Frances Ventress, Wendell R. Verret, Latonia Viverette-Batiste, Robin Wagner, Cynthia Walker, James Waskom, Sarah White, H. Rodger Wilder, Elaine Wilkinson, Lauren Williams, Liz Williams, Steve Wilson, Patrick Witty, Joshua Woodbury, Adonis Woods, Beverly Wright, and John Zakian.

The committee also thanks the study sponsor, the Gulf Research Program, for its support and patience as the committee tackled the charges set out in the Statement of Task.

Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Tabia Henry Akintobi, Morehouse School of Medicine; Bilal Ayyub, University of Maryland; Philip Berke, Texas A&M University; Scott Hemmerling, The Water Institute of the Gulf; Ronald Kessler, Harvard Medical School; Marty Matlock, University of Arkansas; Michelle Meyer, Louisiana State University; Deb Niemeier, University of California, Davis; Susan Scrimshaw, Tufts University; and William Solecki, University of New York.

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Robin McGuire, Lettis Consultants International, Inc. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25383.
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The frequency and severity of disasters over the last few decades have presented unprecedented challenges for communities across the United States. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina exposed the complexity and breadth of a deadly combination of existing community stressors, aging infrastructure, and a powerful natural hazard. In many ways, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was a turning point for understanding and managing disasters, as well as related plan making and policy formulation. It brought the phrase "community resilience" into the lexicon of disaster management.

Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program summarizes the existing portfolio of relevant or related resilience measurement efforts and notes gaps and challenges associated with them. It describes how some communities build and measure resilience and offers four key actions that communities could take to build and measure their resilience in order to address gaps identified in current community resilience measurement efforts. This report also provides recommendations to the Gulf Research Program to build and measure resilience in the Gulf of Mexico region.

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