The American Flood Coalition and the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management convened a roundtable series with eight community based organization in 2020 to discuss the effects of flooding on historically underserved communities. The report–Conversations with Communities: Considerations for Equitable Flooding and Disaster Recovery Policy–summarizes major points from the conversations in a guide for federal policymakers to develop equitable approaches to flood adaptation and recovery. Five core themes emerged: (1) project planning must put social equity first, (2) discriminatory policies that harm underserved communities must be eliminated, (3) long-term engagement between communities and federal officials is critical to build trust, (4) solutions must be community driven and support local leaders and nonprofits, and (5) policymakers must recognize that, for many, advocacy and participation are privileges.
Citation: Flood Coalition. 2021. Conversations with Communities: Considerations for Equitable Flooding and Disaster Recovery Policy. Accessed June 30, 2021 from https://assets.floodcoalition.org/2021/03/b88b030c7b703699b9e320a07e353aa7-AFC-IDIEM-Conversations-With-Communities-Report.pdf.
