Project Overview
Due to the effects of climate change, natural disasters such as hurricanes have become an increasing threat on the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Despite a plethora of planning research assessing the quality of methods used to prevent catastrophe on the Gulf Coast, a disparity exists between the adoption of these best practices by policy makers and their application by planners to aid at risk groups.
This paper analyzes the effects of Hurricane Ivan on the four Gulf Coast counties of Escambia and Santa Rosa Florida alongside the Alabama counties of Baldwin and Mobile. Reports on Hurricane Ivan indicate that the coastline of Alabama and northwest Florida were the areas most impacted by the storm in the United States (Barringer and Revkin, 2004). As a result, the four counties were combined into a single research area to study the extent of damage resultant from Hurricane Ivan. Analysis was conducted to determine how policy decisions at the state level influence the effectiveness of local planning practices regarding natural disasters. This study will conclude with recommendations based on geospatial analysis on how better policies can be implemented to minimize the impact of natural disasters on coastal areas. Please click on the "Poster" or "Paper" button to view our findings. |