In January 2019, the IBTS team, in partnership with the National Governors Association (NGA), will bring a group of experts together in Washington, D.C. to discuss resilience—lifecycle strategies and actions that address the mitigation, response, recovery, and reinvention of communities following a crisis. The need for communities to prepare for, respond and adapt to, and recover from the effects of acute shocks and chronic stressors is vital, as impacts may be felt on varied social, economic, and physical environments and hazards. Research, assessments, and program planning and implementation are key components of a resilience plan.
The Experts Roundtable on Resilient Housing Recovery will convene experts from local government, state and federal agencies, national associations, and mitigation program implementers to discuss the best practices for improving housing resilience before and after a natural disaster. The panel will focus on a range of topics, including:
- the use of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mitigation funds
- how states structure the administration of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds
- policies to improve the resilience of the housing stock
- how states can make disaster recovery planning a routine exercise
Prior to the mid-January event, IBTS conducted interviews of government stakeholders to gain a better understanding of housing resilience challenges and successes at the local, state, and federal levels. The recommendations developed during the roundtable event will inform the preparation of a whitepaper, which will be distributed to governors and their policy advisors in the spring of 2019.
Together with the NGA, IBTS looks to build thriving communities that are resilient to natural disasters with reduced loss of life and damage to property. It is both organizations’ hope that this event will help bring resilience and mitigation topics to the forefront of state and local governments’ planning processes.
For more information on the Experts Roundtable on Resilient Housing Recovery, please contact Patrick Howell, Community Resilience Program Manager at IBTS, at phowell@ibts.org.
