We’re not the only ones thinking about community resilience and planning for hazards and disasters. In fact, the US has been experiencing an entire year’s worth of hazards in February, from blizzards to sever flooding to wildfires. These events often hit historic downtown areas especially hard.
The Main Street America organization offered a webinar on 6 March 2025, Noon-1pm CST, on their new Main Street Disaster and Resiliency Toolkit.
As Manuel T. Ochoa, AICP, co-author of the report writes on their blog, “According to our research, 88.5% of all counties were included in a Presidentially declared disaster area between 2013 and 2023, and 1 in 10 businesses suffered a loss from a natural disaster in a given year. We are all at risk, and we need to prepare. In September, Main Street America released the Main Street Disaster and Resilience Toolkit. Part of a three-year project funded by the National Park Service, the toolkit curates the best resources to help you plan, prepare, respond, and recover.”
The disaster and resilience toolkit is organized in three parts:
- Part One: Plan
- Part Two: Prepare
- Part Three: Respond and Recover
Each part of the toolkit is closely related with other community planning processes, including regional hazard mitigation planning and community comprehensive plans. This resource, though, can help get the planning process rolling in areas with common concerns, such as historic downtowns where the Main Street Program is often at work.
Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Their Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program was developed in partnership with the National Park Service. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and others also have participated in the initiative. Keep an eye on how the new US Administration changes Federal support for community resilience which could put your community at greater risk.
Resource
- Main Street Disaster and Resiliency Toolkit, download here.
Looking for more insights on rural planning? Explore our recommended resources on rural resilience and land-use strategy:
The Best Books for Rural Development and Planning in 2025
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