Planning for Emergencies and Disasters

This course provides students with the capacity to develop planning and public service approaches to understand, diagnose and address causes, consequences, and mitigation and adaptation measures for a variety of emergencies and disasters. These events include natural hazards, accidents, terrorism and other extreme events with often devastating impacts on social structures and the built and natural environments. To address these issues, the course draws upon environmental and land use planning, the spatial representation of hazard areas, hazard index construction, and statistical analysis of databases and risk management to gain an understanding of, reduce, respond, and adapt to disaster consequences. Students will learn effective resource allocation strategies, social justice policies, and innovative technological, environmental and social approaches for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The course also includes knowledge of social and individual behaviors that are a foundation for understanding how people act in disasters. Students will have the opportunity in some cases to meet professionals in emergency planning and response fields in public services, social and health services, security, and the environment.