Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters Strategies, Opportunities, and Planning for Recovery (2015) / Chapter Skim
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9 Place-Based Recovery Strategies for Healthy Communities
9 Place-Based Recovery Strategies for Healthy Communities
Pages 323-368
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From page 323... ...
-- James Marks, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Marks, 2009) As discussed in Chapter 2, the concept of "place matters" has grown in recent years, with many health departments and community groups around the country realizing the connection between health status and social determinants such as transportation, housing, and education.
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From page 324... ...
This chapter outlines the evidence behind these theories while highlighting real-life examples that illustrate the effect these types of initiatives can have in practice -- both in normal times and during recovery from a disaster. During this study and throughout its deliberations, the committee identified key place-based recovery strategies that appear as recurring themes throughout this chapter and cut across multiple sectors involved in planning, transportation, sustainability, health, and community development.
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From page 325... ...
Specifically, these elements can include clean air, parks and green spaces, a sustainable transportation grid promoting active living, access to nutritious food and clean water, safe communities free of violence, and accessible and integrated community services that can contribute to increased social cohesion. How communities are structured and how public transportation, health care, and social services are built within a city often can dictate the level of access residents have to these and other community services and features.
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From page 326... ...
Following a Texas A&M study sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, researchers found that nearly three of four residents reported more physical activity after joining the new community. They found that such elements as sidewalks, parks, open space, and bike routes, along with diverse uses and destinations, supported more physical and social activity (ULI, 2013)
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From page 327... ...
In addition, if facilities such as water treatment and power plants are not sufficiently disaster-resilient, the loss of these critical services can make disaster response and recovery even more difficult. For example, millions of residents in New York City lost power during Hurricane Sandy as a result of storm-related damage and flooding.
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From page 328... ...
. A Systems Approach for Health Improvement While the natural and built environments have direct effects on population health and the social determinants of health, it is important to consider the socioeconomic systems that operate within those environments.
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Contemporary Approaches to Healthier and More Resilient and Sustainable Communities Revisiting the "duality of use" concept, many agencies and organizations outside the health sector also are thinking about sustainable, long-term planning for communities. As it happens, many of the smart growth strategies recommended by the U.S.
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From page 330... ...
. For those concerned about hazard mitigation and resiliency, such strategies as green roofs, rain gardens, and porous concrete can help manage stormwater runoff, alleviate flooding, and prevent aquifer pollution after a hurricane or other disaster.
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Positive health effects of the social capital that existed in the neighborhood may be at risk. Because disasters often cause disproportionate hardship for vulnerable populations and low-income neighborhoods, recovery planning
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A comprehensive review of these resources is beyond the scope of this report, but the relevant agencies and funding sources related to community development and rebuilding are briefly reviewed here. As mentioned earlier, the major federal agencies whose policies and funding shape the built and natural environments in the United States came together in 2009 to form the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
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. Under the NDRF, a FEMA official functions as the federal disaster recovery coordinator and for presidentially declared disasters, FEMA also provides public assistance and hazard mitigation funding for repair and restoration of public (and some nonprofit)
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State emergency management agencies, for example, are the grantees for FEMA Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs, and they must work closely with community planning entities to manage mitigation activities. For optimal vertical integration, state agencies need to align with the NDRF structure and, in doing so, should ensure that their state-level entities with everyday responsibilities for urban or regional planning and development are incorporated into the RSF structure and understand their roles.
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From page 335... ...
As discussed throughout this chapter, there are many ways to leverage strategies and the energy and interest of community leaders to bring about positive change at the local level. Nonprofits, Philanthropies, and the Private Sector Nonprofit organizations and businesses have a vested interest in rebuilding in the communities in which they work and with which they feel a connection, and therefore, they also should be included in discussions at the local government level to facilitate and execute recovery planning.
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From page 336... ...
Some groups, such as MPOs, are more familiar and comfortable with working together than others because they operate together routinely. For others, it is important to assess the ability to work together on short notice in the event of a disaster demanding multisector recovery planning.
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From page 337... ...
Likewise, planners would benefit from data and metrics that are available to public health departments to understand where interventions would best be implemented. A recent example of such partnerships is King County Board of Health's adoption of "Planning for Healthy Communities" guidelines in 2011.
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From page 338... ...
The vision and goals created from these workshops should be incorporated into the overall comprehensive plan for a town or city, as discussed in Chapter 3. Organizing for Disaster Recovery Planning Each sector has its own roles and responsibilities in recovery planning that need to be laid out, but a forum also is needed to identify and create synergy among the various projects and programs being planned.
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From page 339... ...
, to activities initiated in 2001 to revitalize the downtown area. Rohr suggested that the community's history of engagement in downtown revitalization served as a precursor to the CART's mission to consider and outline a long-term disaster recovery strategy (Abramson and Culp, 2013)
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EARLY POST-DISASTER RECOVERY PRIORITIES The early recovery period often overlaps with and runs parallel to the disaster response phase. During this time, communities assess the extent of the disaster-related damage and begin restoration efforts.
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From page 341... ...
However, if public facilities are affected, infrastructure is destroyed past the point of repair, or an already declining area is heavily impacted, it will be necessary to assess the impacts quickly and facilitate the community's transition from disaster response to disaster recovery planning -- not waiting until the response ends to plan the recovery needs. Restoring Critical Infrastructure and Remediating Immediate Health Threats Following an impact assessment, early restoration operations needed for the short term, including those addressing infrastructure, land use, and environmental management, should be conducted.
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From page 342... ...
INTERMEDIATE- TO LONG-TERM RECOVERY: OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE HEALTHIER AND MORE RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES The health promotion strategies discussed in this section are evidence-based but communities will need to determine what is appropriate to their local conditions and community vision. Communities should inventory their prior plans to identify opportunities to apply disaster-related resources to meet previously agreed-upon objectives.
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From page 343... ...
During post-disaster redevelopment, one of the greatest opportunities to improve both community health status and social vulnerability is to leverage the recovery funds that often become available to address the needs of low-income individuals and families -- most notably CDBG-DR funding, but possibly also economic development and rural development funds. A number of place-based strategies can address blight and reduce socioeconomic and health disparities through interventions that provide access 8 AARP recently developed a disaster recovery toolkit that provides policy information, tools, and resources for building more livable communities after disasters, available at http://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/tool-kits-resources/info-2015/disasterrecovery-tool-kit.html (accessed April 9, 2015)
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From page 344... ...
, for example, created affordable housing and community elements such as a Head Start program and a senior care community, accessible via multiple transit routes, reducing the parking burden in the area and allowing people of all income levels to obtain goods and services safely and easily. Although evidence on the health benefits of mixed-income housing is inconclusive (as discussed further in Chapter 10)
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From page 345... ...
After a disaster, this could entail strategic placement of new schools and community health clinics near public and affordable housing developments. Changes to land use policies can be complementary to reconstruction of physical infrastructure.
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From page 346... ...
. Coming together after a disaster with multiple parties to consider the implications of the damage and the options available for addressing it is an important part of successful recovery planning.
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. In addition to its function as green infrastructure, the placement and design of High Line Park also encourage elements of a healthy community described throughout this report, such as active lifestyles and positive community interaction, which can contribute to increased social cohesion.
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In many cases, communities will lean toward employing structural and nonstructural mitigation measures to build resilience before attempting to move. In the event of a presidentially declared disaster, funding for mitigation measures is available from FEMA (Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Section 406 Stafford Act mitigation funds)
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Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery are two funding sources commonly used to finance buyouts, and homeowners generally are offered prestorm market value for their homes.
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From page 350... ...
The case study in Box 9-6 is an example of natural hazard mitigation efforts developed in the context of this competition. Given the physical, psychological, economic, and social consequences of disasters, recommendations for leveraging long-term recovery planning to build healthier communities need to encompass hazard mitigation and risk reduction to protect against the effects of future disasters.
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From page 351... ...
The ecology created can mitigate many hazards, improve air quality, and moderate temperature while also contributing to healthy communities by promoting active lifestyles and vibrant community centers and activities. At the same time, it is important to remember that addressing just the physical infrastructure of a community cannot bring about healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities; reduc
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Table 9-1 provides a summary of strategies that can be employed in this kind of complementary approach. TABLE 9-1 Summary of Strategies for Healthy Community Planning Guidance Area Rationale Healthy Community Planning Strategies Transportation and Community design that promotes active • Provide safe routes for schoolchildren to Land Use lifestyles, injury reduction, and social walk or bike to school through sidewalk cohesion while improving access to improvements, street crossings, and traffic goods and services and encouraging calming controls.
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From page 353... ...
Following the floods in Iowa in 2008, for example, the city of Cedar Rapids developed a recovery plan that addressed hazard mitigation, active lifestyles, and the need to reduce social vulnerability through affordable housing (see Box 9-7)
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After the flood, these initiatives were accelerated and integrated into the com munity's comprehensive plan, Envision CR, helping the community focus not on just the immediate disaster response but also on investing in the city's recovery and future goals 15 to 20 years down the line. As a result of its efforts to use the disaster recovery process to build back healthier by increasing physical activity, social connectedness, and a sense of belonging as a community, Cedar Rapids is now a Blue Zones Community and was awarded the 2014 National Civic League's All-American City Award.
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From page 355... ...
To ensure that these opportunities are not missed, planning and design, housing, community development, and environmental and public health professionals should be engaged in the development of pre- and post-disaster recovery strategies, which should be linked to community plans for improving health and social well-being developed in advance of a disaster. Communities that have such plans in hand when a disaster strikes are better equipped to undertake recovery more quickly with the long-term objectives of health, resilience, and sustainability.
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From page 356... ...
, acting alone or as components of the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, should ensure through funding requirements that the use of federal community development and disaster recovery and preparedness funds optimizes the built environment in support of healthy communities by creating places that protect against health threats, promote good health, and address unmet social needs. Local and state planning entities should develop a team-based approach to integrated recovery planning aligned with the policies and processes of the Partnership for Sustainable Communi ties so as to maximize efficiency in the use of federal resources to enhance smart growth, equity, hazard mitigation, resilience, sustainability, and other elements necessary to the creation of healthy communities.
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From page 357... ...
• Capitalize on existing planning networks to strengthen recovery planning, including attention to public health, medical, and social services, especially for vulnerable populations.
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From page 358... ...
Priority: Conduct Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments Primary Actors: Elected Officials and Community Leaders, Emergency Management Agen cies, Urban and Regional Planning Agencies Key Partners: State/Local Health Departments, Chamber of Commerce, Private Sector, Community- and Faith-Based Organizations Key Recovery Strategies: • Capitalize on existing planning networks to strengthen recovery planning, including attention to public health, medical, and social services, especially for vulnerable populations. • Rebuild for resilience and sustainability.
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From page 359... ...
PLACE-BASED RECOVERY STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 359 Pre-Event £ se risk assessment tools to simulate damage and measure the effects of different disaster U events. £ f available, use geographic information systems (GIS)
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C Priority: Restore Critical Infrastructure and Remediate Immediate Health Threats Primary Actors: Emergency Management Agencies, Urban and Regional Planning Agencies, Public Works and Utilities Key Partners: Environmental Health Agencies, Federal Agencies (including the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
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• Rebuild for resilience and sustainability. • Capitalize on existing planning networks to strengthen recovery planning, including attention to public health, medical, and social services, especially for vulnerable populations.
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From page 362... ...
• Rebuild for resilience and sustainability. • Capitalize on existing planning networks to strengthen recovery planning, including attention to public health, medical, and social services, especially for vulnerable populations.
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From page 363... ...
R Priority: Incorporate Hazard Mitigation, Resilience, and Sustainability Planning into a Recovery Strategy Primary Actors: Urban and Regional Planning Agencies, Emergency Management Agencies, Environmental Health Agencies, Coastal and Hazard Agencies Key Partners: Conservation Groups and Agencies, Water Resource Agencies, Federal Agen cies (including FEMA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture)
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2014b. Post-disaster recovery briefing papers.
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From page 365... ...
2013. Creating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities: Strategies for advancing smart growth, envi ronmental justice, and equitable development.
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2014. Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program.
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From page 367... ...
Paper presented at IOM Com mittee on Post-Disaster Recovery of a Community's Public Health, Medical, and Social Services: Meeting Two, February 3, Washington, DC. Pinellas County.
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2007. The built environment and physical activity: What is the relationship?
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