Anticipating the Big One: Exploring the role of landscape architecture in preparing Wellington's CBD for a major earthquake

<p>“Risk of urban disasters is no longer a phenomenon that we can stop, avoid or deter, but rather they are part of complex ecological processes from which we are inseparable and must design with, in preparation for the next imminent disaster.” Miho Mazereeuw (Mazereeuw, 2011. Pg 85) Due to recent seismic activity across New Zealand, it has become widely speculated that Wellington is overdue for a major earthquake that could devastate the city. This has brought to light Wellington’s unique vulnerabilities and physical lack of preparedness to survive a significant natural disaster. Until recently, pre-disaster planning has looked towards both architectural and engineering solutions that focus on resisting or deterring the effects of a natural disaster, leaving landscape architecture as a post disaster clean up tool. This thesis aims to demonstrate the potential of landscape architecture within the field of pre-disaster planning, changing the way we adapt to natural disasters within the urban environment. This research will develop a preemptive strategy for Wellington’s Central Business District, or ‘CBD’ that utilises access ways and open space as emergency infrastructure to save lives in the event of a major earthquake, whilst enhancing the urban environment for day-to-day use. This research proposes that access ways and open space are the catalyst in which landscape architecture could make a significant contribution to the pre-disaster planning of cities. More specifically, it tests the combination of a latent emergency infrastructure with quality urban design through a series of landscape architecture experiments that focus on Wellington’s CBD as a site for design exploration. This exploration challenges the way in which we design our urban environments to allow a level of flexibility in times of distress or natural disaster. Overall this thesis will generate new ideas and creative solutions to the idea of urban resilience, indicating that, not only can landscape architecture make a significant contribution to pre-disaster planning, but that spaces designed for an emergency function can still enlighten our everyday experience of the city.</p>

Anticipating the Big One: Exploring the role of landscape architecture in preparing Wellington's CBD for a major earthquake

<p>“Risk of urban disasters is no longer a phenomenon that we can stop, avoid or deter, but rather they are part of complex ecological processes from which we are inseparable and must design with, in preparation for the next imminent disaster.” Miho Mazereeuw (Mazereeuw, 2011. Pg 85) Due to recent seismic activity across New Zealand, it has become widely speculated that Wellington is overdue for a major earthquake that could devastate the city. This has brought to light Wellington’s unique vulnerabilities and physical lack of preparedness to survive a significant natural disaster. Until recently, pre-disaster planning has looked towards both architectural and engineering solutions that focus on resisting or deterring the effects of a natural disaster, leaving landscape architecture as a post disaster clean up tool. This thesis aims to demonstrate the potential of landscape architecture within the field of pre-disaster planning, changing the way we adapt to natural disasters within the urban environment. This research will develop a preemptive strategy for Wellington’s Central Business District, or ‘CBD’ that utilises access ways and open space as emergency infrastructure to save lives in the event of a major earthquake, whilst enhancing the urban environment for day-to-day use. This research proposes that access ways and open space are the catalyst in which landscape architecture could make a significant contribution to the pre-disaster planning of cities. More specifically, it tests the combination of a latent emergency infrastructure with quality urban design through a series of landscape architecture experiments that focus on Wellington’s CBD as a site for design exploration. This exploration challenges the way in which we design our urban environments to allow a level of flexibility in times of distress or natural disaster. Overall this thesis will generate new ideas and creative solutions to the idea of urban resilience, indicating that, not only can landscape architecture make a significant contribution to pre-disaster planning, but that spaces designed for an emergency function can still enlighten our everyday experience of the city.</p>

Disaster Planning

As disasters become more frequent and severe worldwide, disaster planning as a human endeavor is more important than ever, with the potential to save millions of lives globally. In this important new book, the author offers a practical, step-by-step guide for writing, implementing, and measuring the quality of your own disaster plan to address any threat with an approach that has been tested in public health and medical settings worldwide. Filling a significant gap in the existing literature, this book offers a comprehensive reference for both the principles and the practice of disaster planning. Access to a 25-lecture training course provides ancillary teaching materials for college level courses, offering added value for academic readers. An essential resource for public health graduates and anyone responsible for the management of disasters, primarily public health professionals, emergency physicians, first responders, and emergency managers.

A strategy for disaster preparedness in obstetrics

Background: Many hospital units, including obstetric (OB) units, were unprepared when the novel coronavirus began sweeping through communities. National and international bodies, including the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control Prevention, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, directed enormous efforts to present the latest evidence-based practices to healthcare institutions and communities. The first hospitals that were affected in China and the United States (US) did heroic work in assisting their colleagues with best practices they had acquired. Despite these resources, many US hospitals struggled with how to best incorporate and implement this new information into disaster plans, and many protocol changes had to be established de novo. In general, disaster planning for OB units lagged behind other disaster planning performed by specialties such as emergency medicine, trauma, and pediatrics.Participants: Fortunately, two pre-existing collaborative disaster groups, the OB Disaster Planning Workgroup and the Western Regional Alliance for Pediatric Emergency Management, were able to rapidly deploy during the pandemic due to their pre-established networks and shared goals.Main outcome: These groups were able to share best practices, identify and address knowledge gaps, and disseminate information on a broad scale. The case will be made that the OB community needs to establish more such regional and national disaster committees that meet year-round. This will ensure that in times of urgency, these groups can increase the cadence of their meetings, and thus rapidly disperse time-sensitive policies and procedures for OB units nationwide.Conclusion: Given the unique patient population, it is imperative that OB units establish regional coalitions to facilitate a coordinated response to local and national disasters.