URP students awarded for post-disaster planning project

September 26, 2011

From left to right, Allison Mengrath (awards committee chair), Dean Chris Silver, Brett Lackey (student), Kristin Larsen (URP chair), Dawn Jourdan (project advisor) and Merle Bishop (FAPA President)

A group of URP students were awarded the 2011 Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association Student Planning Project Award at the APA Florida annual conference this month in Palm Beach.

The winning entry, a post-disaster planning project for Pinellas County, was prepared by students in a land use course taught by Dawn Jourdan, assistant professor of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Director of the Center for Building Better Communities.

Working with Pinellas County planning staff, students enrolled in Land Use Law at the University of Florida crafted a series of evidence-based ordinances based on best practices to assist Pinellas County in an effort to prepare for following the occurrence of a natural disaster.

“These strategies are ideal tools that our community needs at our disposal in dealing with the aftermath of a disaster,” said Brian K. Smith, director of planning in Pinellas County. “Furthermore, these strategies are easily transferable and should be in the toolbox of every local government post-disaster redevelopment effort.”

Students from the class titled Growth Management Powers I drafted four model regulations to assist the county and the communities situated within it to facilitate rebuilding following such an event. These ordinances were noted as innovative since they represent an interdisciplinary approach to planning post-disaster, as well as use disaster events as an opportunity to inspire conversations about planning for sea level rise.

The students’ work will be incorporated in the Pinellas Post-Disaster Redevelopment and Action Plans.