Emergencies, Disasters, and Cities

This course introduces students to the discipline of emergency management to better understand the urban planning and public service approaches necessary to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate future emergency and disaster impacts. Focusing primarily on natural disasters, the course uses case study examples and recent events to expound upon the historical and conceptual frameworks that have and continue to shape this field. The course also includes assessments of social and individual behaviors that serve as a foundation for understanding how people act in disasters and how behavioral changes may save lives and property.