The Creating Resilient Communities project completed its work in the fall of 2010. Many thanks to all of the partners who participated, volunteered their time, and helped to integrate conservation and hazard mitigation into regional growth scenarios.

Results

The results of the analyses of conservation and natural hazard impacts on two future development scenarios were used to help shape the alternative scenarios created as part of the Our Region, Our Plan process, the BCDCOG regional planning effort.  ­

Results of the project are summarized here.  If you are interested in more information, including the details of the process and analyses, please contact Jocelyn Hittle at PlaceMatters.

You can also download a detailed technical guide (developed for the EBM Tools Network), Integrated Planning for Resilient Communities, which describes the steps for integrating CommunityViz, NatureServe's Vista tool, and NOAA's Roadmap for Adapting to Coastal Risk tool for a more holistic planning approach. 

The Creating Resilient Communities project also created a regional data clearinghouse of available land use, habitat, and hazard data that will be made available to partner organizations. 

The Initiative

Creating Resilient Communities looked at the intersection between planning, hazard mitigation, and conservation to help the region prepare to resist damages from hurricanes, storm surge and floods, including loss of property, income and lives. The project helped inform the Our Region, Our Plan process, providing information about where land should be developed to avoid putting people and property at risk, and where to conserve natural areas, like marshes and floodplains, so they can continue to protect our coastal neighborhoods, regional economy and quality of life.

The Methods

The Creating Resilient Communities project mapped regional resources and identify vulnerable neighborhoods and facilities. It also identified areas at risk from natural hazards and conservation areas that may help to mitigate hazards’ impacts. These analyses shaped an "Alternative Future Scenario" that reduced growth in hazard prone areas and conserved important habitats, goals that were often achieved by the same redirection of growth. Download the Creating Resilient Communities presentation or Integrated Planning for Resilient Communities, the technical guide, for more information on the methods, or contact Jocelyn Hittle at PlaceMatters for a detailed summary.