012: How Data and GIS Helps FEMA Equitably Allocate Resources with Heather Milton

“If your community has a disaster, help with the planning. Help figure out what you want to happen next because if you don't play, you can't win.” -Heather Milton Episode Description: Disasters can devastate communities greatly. When...

Show Notes

“If your community has a disaster, help with the planning. Help figure out what you want to happen next because if you don't play, you can't win.” -Heather Milton

Episode Description:

Disasters can devastate communities greatly. When this happens, the focus of those affected is on survival, but after the immediate danger has been thwarted, many then turn their attention to longer-term issues of survival and recovery. For them, the most important thing is to get their lives back to normal.

In this event, disaster management is one of the most important public services that governments are responsible for. However, this statement immediately presents a challenge: How can we design a system to equitably distribute the limited resources so that as many people as possible are helped in the wake of a disaster?

Tune in as Jennifer interviews Heather Milton, a member of FEMA's Interagency Recovery Coordination team on the role of FEMA and GISCorps in ensuring that certain measures are observed to allow the underprivileged to access the same resources as the rest of the population. They also talk about how valuable data is for the government, where planning for allocation starts, the limitations of FEMA, how to design recovery programs, how to lead and redesign your community, and how individual members can contribute to the recovery of the community.

The system isn't perfect, but when the government, organizations, and communities work together, quick disaster recovery is possible.

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Highlights:

01:05: What is GISCorps?

08:57: The Limits of FEMA

16:41: Factors to Consider in Resource Allocation

21:01: Lead and Design Your Community