Race, Planning, and Emergency Management: Combating Inequities in Community Planning Policies

Abstract

Disaster preparedness and relief is a key service provided by the American system of government, but emergency management practices have produced varying outcomes. Based on the existing literature, emergency management, community planning, and a history of racial inequities are inextricably interconnected. Based on the concepts presented by social equity, community planning, emergency management, and environmental policy literature, an interdisciplinary approach was used to create an original checklist of considerations for emergency managers, community planners, and policymakers to use in a collaborative manner to proactively address potential threats to their constituents and communities.