The role of citizens in DRR planning exercises: when to inform or consult

The purpose of this research paper is to explore the role and effectiveness of particular participation styles that affect the effectiveness of urban planning being integrated with disaster risk reduction (DRR) practices.

This research was conducted using a heuristic approach to the examination of urban planning and DRR practices focussing particularly upon citizens’ participation in four case studies internationally: the UK floods in 2007; Hurricane Katrina in the USA in 2005; wildfires of 2009 in Victoria, Australia; and Swiss avalanche prevention and preparedness. Desktop research was conducted to analyse cases and identify key findings, confirmed and augmented by interviews with relevant specialists in each country through semi-structured interviews.

The research reveals some similarities across all four cases studied. It appears that urban planning and DRR approaches, particularly those with a regulatory outcome and based on highly technical tests, are common. Further, it is apparent in the cases studied that circumstances where deeper technical knowledge and/or self-interest are strong factors, that informing and sometimes consulting styles are the most appropriate. While the scope of the paper means that this principle cannot be widely applied, there is a need to investigate these issues further.

The heuristic and inductive nature of this research limits the potential for in-depth analyses of the case studies, but rather provides a base for future research in this area, which currently has limited literature.

This study provides a wide base for future research and partially addresses the gap in the literature on the topic of integration of urban planning and DRR with a focus on the community involvement in it.