Communities shouldn’t wait for a flood or a hurricane to see how land use choices will affect their ability to remain resilient in the face of disaster.

Many states and municipalities are already thinking strategically about how land use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions can help them prepare for and mitigate the impact of disasters. Building Resilient States: Profiles in Action, published by the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, highlights local, regional, and statewide efforts to build more resilient communities from the ground up. The report looks at examples in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon, focusing on each of seven strategic steps for disaster resilience.

GICD hosted a kickoff discussion all about the new resource. Joining the conversation was Iain Hyde, Deputy Director of the Colorado Resiliency and Recovery Office; Mark Lowery, Climate Policy Analyst at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Office of Climate Change; Rebecca French, Director of Community Engagement at the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation; Jeannette Dubinin, Director of Coastal Program for the Center for Planning Excellence in Louisiana; and Harriet Tregoning, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Governors’ Institute is a program run in partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Smart Growth America.