Hazards Planning Research Center

Hazard Mitigation Planning

The major current initiative of the Hazards Planning Research Center, involving a contract with FEMA, is a two-year study of Integrating Hazard Mitigation into Local Planning that is intended to result in a PAS Report by the spring of 2010. This study examines best practices in all areas of integrating mitigation into local plan making, including the comprehensive plan, plan implementation tools, and capital improvements programming. It will include six major case studies of communities deemed to be in the forefront of such efforts. This builds on earlier efforts in which APA partnered with FEMA to provide training on hazard mitigation planning to professional planners.

Planning for a Disaster-Resistant Community, a one-day interactive workshop, is still available for use by APA chapters, regional planning agencies, and other planning organizations and resulted from a contract with APA in 2001-2002. This workshop is presented in a shorter, half-day format every year as one of the professional development workshops at the APA National Planning Conference.