In 2007 humanity moved across an important threshold: For the first time in world history more than half of the global population now lives in cities. Unfortunately, the resulting crowding, poverty, and lack of information has increased disaster impacts and significantly increased social instability.
The staff at AccessAgility have worked in direct disaster response for more than 20 years and we have seen many humanitarian support problems made worse by a lack of information. We have now evaluated issues at length with our network of response professionals and identified critical safety gaps in adult training for community resilience techniques, disaster risk reduction, and emergency response coordination. To fill those gaps we propose the formation of new training facilities to serve vulnerable communities. The term we’re using is “Smart Hubs”.
Smart Hubs begin by delivering training in geographic information systems (GIS), starting from the most basic levels of map reading and extending into advanced GIS project management. Smart Hubs also, in parallel, offer adult learners a broad range of community resilience and disaster impact reduction courses that are not taught in ordinary schools, some of which build on the GIS foundation.
Hubs are also designed to serve as natural collaboration centers, available for ongoing community discussions and for preparing local staff and students to be effective during emergency operations.
Smart Hubs train communities in disaster resilience in two phases, Geospatial Information Sciences and Community Capacity Building. For the second, capacity building, we describe to vulnerable communities what topic areas might be useful to them so that the range of opportunities is clear. We then work with communities to select information they decide they want to learn, and combine those requests with GIS training, using teaching techniques that fit the community context. That participatory design, and the resulting education around community resilience, helps to reduce:
- human casualties and property damage
- communication failures between communities and responders
- local insecurity and the risk of social unrest
- the potential for political instability in the face of disaster
The goal of each Hub is a community that is calmer and more effective when facing hazards. Over time we’ll see neighborhoods developing into centers of capability, with families aware of risks cooperating in a response. Neighborhoods will be able to work with local authorities more effectively to reduce the impact of a natural or industrial disaster.