Using the Equitable Resilience Builder (ERB) Tool in resilience planning
Urban planners are used to the chaos of public meetings and the frustration that comes from unproductive dialogue in these spaces. Learning from the experiences of planners and environmental managers, we developed a resilience planning tool that provides structure and support for respectful and inclusive community engagement. Incorporating a number of best practices into activity guidance, the Equitable Resilience Builder (ERB) tool provides guidance for engaging with communities, incorporating local knowledge in hazard and resilience assessments, and activities to collaboratively prioritize and implement actions to improve equity and resilience in communities.
This presentation will be a presentation and live demo of the EPA's new resilience planning tool - the Equitable Resilience Builder (ERB). The tool was created by an interdisciplinary team at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency using human-centered design techniques. The tool is a response to feedback from local resilience planners that it is difficult to incorporate community voices with resilience and vulnerability data in planning processes.
ERB is a downloadable application that guides users on equitably engaging communities on resilience – addressing both disasters and climate change. It includes techniques for inclusive community engagement; guides for workshops with storytelling; and strategies for evaluating hazards, equity, and resilience combining local knowledge and local priorities with other data sources. ERB is unique in its combination of qualitative and quantitative data and processes. The goal of the tool is to be: 1) Equitable – users can increase attention to equity using tool content and process; 2) Holistic – users visualize how built, natural, and social environments affect equitable resilience; 3) Adaptable – ERB can be used in different types of resilience planning: watershed, hazard mitigation, disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, etc.; 4) Flexible – users select which activities best suit their goals, timeline, and resources; 5) Iterative – reflection and revision are built into ERB; 6) Emotions and trauma – ERB recognizes that resilience planning sparks emotional reactions, especially in places suffering from historic trauma or recent disasters. Through emphasizing engagement, empowering local knowledge, and respecting and incorporating underrepresented perspectives from the community, the ERB helps users build a stronger sense of community trust and develop more equitable and sustainable resilience plans.