Hazards Planning Research Center

Research

Working with a global network of research fellows and partner institutions, APA conducts collaborative, multidisciplinary research.

Current Projects

Integrating Hazard Mitigation into Local Planning

The Hazards Planning Research Center is working under contract with FEMA to develop a best practices PAS Report on ways in which communities can integrate hazard mitigation priorities into all levels of local planning activities.

Summary of State Land Use and Natural Hazards Laws

Since 2002, when it first developed this unique tool, APA and its Hazards Planning Research Center have maintained and updated a web-based report, sponsored by the Institute for Business and Home Safety, that tracks annual changes in state laws addressing both general planning requirements and authorities and those provisions specifically addressing planning for natural hazards.

Past Projects

Landslide Hazards and Planning

Supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, this project resulted in the PAS Report, Landslide Hazards and Planning (No. 533/534, September 2005), detailing best practices and including seven case studies for addressing landslide hazards through planning.

Planning for Wildfires

In cooperation with the National Wildland Urban Interface Fire Program, APA produced Planning for Wildfires (PAS Report No. 529/530, February 2005), which examined major issues, model programs, and best practices with regard to Firewise community design and wildfire mitigation.

Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction

In what has become a major classic in the field of disaster recovery, APA worked through a cooperative agreement with FEMA to produce this PAS Report (No. 483/484, December 1998), which outlined how communities can plan before a disaster to manage effectively the process of recovering and rebuilding afterwards. The link above is to Chapter 5, "A Planner’s Tool Kit,” which was posted online as part of APA’s overall outreach efforts to Gulf Coast communities after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.