Ward Lyles

Planning for resiliency: evaluation of state hazard mitigation plans under the Disaster Mitigation Act

State mitigation plans play a critical role in supporting disaster loss reduction and long-term resiliency of human communities. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all states to prepare mitigation plans. Based on six principles of plan quality, we content analyzed a sample of 30 coastal state plans to determine how well they support mitigation. Findings indicate that although plans scored moderate to low for all plan quality principles, plan quality has modestly improved over the past decade. In addition, some states scored low for one principle, which can undermine implementation of otherwise high-scoring plans for the remaining principles. Recommendations are offered on how plan quality evaluation can be used to guide and monitor state development of hazard mitigation plans.

Measuring and Reporting Intercoder Reliability in Plan Quality Evaluation Research

Plan quality evaluation researchers typically evaluate plans in relation to whether they contain certain desirable features. Best practice dictates that plans be evaluated by at least two readers and that researchers report a measure of the extent to which the readers agree on whether the plans contain the desirable features. Established practice for assessing this agreement has been subject to criticism. We summarize this criticism, discuss an alternative approach to assessing agreement, and provide recommendations for plan quality evaluation researchers to follow to improve the quality of their data and the manner in which they assess and report that quality.

Plan Quality Evaluation 1994–2012 Growth and Contributions, Limitations, and New Directions

During the last twenty years, more than forty-five publications have sought to measure and evaluate the quality of plans using content analysis methods. We examine reasons for this growth in the literature and its contributions and limitations. We also examine whether the research methods described in these publications conform to recommended practices in the methodological literature on content analysis to determine whether plan quality researchers are likely to be generating reliable and reproducible plan quality data. We provide seven recommendations plan quality researchers can follow to address these weaknesses and improve the reliability and reproducibility of their data.

Impacts of Federal and State Hazard Mitigation Policies on Local Land Use Policy

Despite emergence of federal policy experiments, knowledge about the influence of federal policies on local land use policy is almost nonexistent. We examine the effects of a federal mandate and a federal incentive program on adoption of land use policies in local hazard mitigation plans. Comparative statistics were used to determine adoption rates by federal and state programs, followed by Poisson regressions to explain degree of adoption under the federal policies controlling for state policies and local contexts. We found that federal policies do not make a difference in local land use actions, but state policy exerts a strong influence.

Local plan implementation: assessing conformance and influence of local plans in the United States:

Attention to if and how plans are implemented is increasing. Among the conceptions of plan implementation used by scholars, plan conformance and plan performance are most prominent, though rarely have both been assessed in a single study. We assess plan conformance and a modified version of performance, which we call influence, for a sample of more than 100 local hazard mitigation plans developed in response to a national planning requirement in the United States. Our findings indicate that progress on implementation of the policies included in the plans (plan conformance) is moderate, but that the rate of progress varies widely by the type of policy and the state in which the local jurisdiction is located. The findings also indicate that coordination of hazard mitigation plans (plan influence) is strongest with other emergency management agency-led planning initiatives and weaker with planning initiatives led by other agencies. National officials interested in advancing local implementation of national goals need to consider the degree to which state and local governments are given autonomy to select and prioritize local policies included in plans, as well as constraints on coordination across planning initiatives.

Using social network analysis to examine planner involvement in environmentally oriented planning processes led by non-planning professions

Broad stakeholder involvement cannot be assumed in all environmental planning and management processes that have critical land use dimensions. This paper illustrates how concepts and techniques from social network analysis (SNA) can be used to examine and better understand the roles of one type of stakeholders, planners, in environmentally oriented planning and management processes led by other professions. Two cases of natural hazard mitigation planning led by emergency managers illustrate the usefulness of three SNA concepts of network structural characteristics in understanding how differences in planner involvement may influence incorporation of land use approaches in local natural hazard mitigation plans aimed at reducing long term risks from natural hazards.

Where to begin municipal climate adaptation planning? Evaluating two local choices

Adapting to the impacts of human-caused climate change is a critical challenge facing cities worldwide. But, local climate adaptation planning is in its infancy. Early on, cities must decide whether to take a narrow-scope approach focused solely on reducing risks from climate impacts or to take a broad-scope approach embedding adaptation planning within wider ranging community concerns. They also must decide whether or not to formally involve their planning agency in adaptation planning. We used content analysis methods to assess a national sample of United States municipal plans. We find that cities with plans with a narrow-scope approach, focused on reducing risks, perform better in terms of plan integration and including more land use policies that can steer development out of hazardous areas. Formal involvement of planning agencies in adaptation planning processes is associated with more plan integration, but not necessarily inclusion of more land use policies.

The Prospect of Compassionate Planning

Compassion—the awareness of and motivation to increase care and reduce suffering—is an ethical orientation that encompasses emotions and thoughts. A growing body of evidence indicates that compassion can be intentionally cultivated, with potentially transformative impacts at the individual, organizational, and process levels. We examine the applicability of compassion for planning, particularly for transforming strongly held values and norms that contribute to seemingly intractable challenges. We identify four categories of planning work in which compassion cultivation can be undertaken and four directions for future research on the application of compassion in planning practice and education.