The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will release the complete draft of its Community Resilience Planning Guide (Guide)* for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems on April 27, 2015, during a public workshop at Texas Southern University, in Houston.
Issued for public review, the draft Guide is a comprehensive, yet customizable tool that communities can use as they plan and implement measures designed to help them withstand extreme weather and other hazards and to recover efficiently in their aftermath.The tool was developed by NIST researchers and outside experts in areas ranging from buildings to utilities and from earthquake engineering to sociology, with stakeholder input gathered at the four previous regional meetings and directly from individuals to the NIST Community Resilience Group.
The new Guide's integrated perspective focuses on improving the resilience of buildings and infrastructure systems—such as transportation, energy and communication systems, and water treatment facilities—in the context of sustaining community functions, including health care and other important local services.
At the morning session of the workshop, NIST researchers and NIST Disaster Resilience Fellows will provide an overview of the Guide, describe its application, and respond to questions.The afternoon session will feature a panel of emergency planners and other local and regional representatives, who will discuss the potential utility of the new tool for their communities.
The draft Community Resilience Planning Guide will undergo a 60-day public review, to be announced in the Federal Register, also on April 27, when the draft can be downloaded from: Community Resilience Planning Guide. More information about the Guide and next steps to improve community resilience also is available on the site.
Who should attend?
Anyone with an interest in improving the resilience of U.S. communities, including those with knowledge or expertise in community planning, disaster recovery, emergency management, business continuity, insurance/re-insurance, state and local government, design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure (buildings, water and wastewater, electric power, communications, transportation), and standards and code development.
The NIST-hosted workshop will begin at 8:30 am and will adjourn at 4 pm. The registration fee including catered meals (breakfast, coffee, lunch and an afternoon refreshment) is $52.00. The registration fee for the meeting only is $5.00. The meeting is open to the public, however, space is limited and pre-registration is required.
*The title has been renamed from "Community Disaster Resilience Framework" to better align this document with the National Preparedness Goal and to avoid confusion with the National Planning Frameworks.