Community Resiliency Report | 07.06.2010 | 08:05:43 | Views: 11676 | ID: July 2010: **NB** Thanks to InCaseofEmergency and Recovery Diva for the links and the original stories. The Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism at Syracuse University has published a paper for communities who are working to "prepare for surprises." Community Resilience: A function of resources and adaptability works to tackle the problem of preparing communities for responses to disasters and challenges - man-made and environmental - through policy change, programs and systems "that help local communities cope with a wide range of threats." Every community will have its own set of unique challenges it will face on the road to preparedness and response capability, the paper writes. In larger communities and in nations like the United States where the systems of food and water distribution and transportation have become highly complex, the challenges facing local and state communities will be different from those places where the infrastructure is less developed. Even more specifically, the report writes in the US: "Individuals and organizations are more reliant than every on electricity, computerized systems and communications networks supported by distant satellites for everyday activities. Each of these modern conveniences allows communities to function more efficiently. yet, few people maintain a stockpile of food and water for emergencies or possess alternative modes of transportation, power generation, or communication." "Never before have governments, communities, and individuals been so devastatingly unprepared to cope with disturbances to infrastructure, vital resources or public goods and services," the report wrote. In a similar vein author Matthew Stein's book When Technology Fails focuses on the ways communities can work to increase their preparedness and response capabilities for disasters by focusing on sustainable infrastructure and economic practices; more environmentally-sound business and pollution controls; and resilient infrastructure to ensure cleaner water and air for urban areas.
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