Getting Out Before the Big One Hits:

an assessment of collaboration within the evacuation route planning process

UA805 – Boston SymposiumMay 9, 2011

Brian Magee Patrick Sullivan

Shang Liu Thad Soule

Boston

The Role of inter-governmental Communication and Collaboration in Evacuation Planning

“[Evacuation plans] cannot each stand alone and succeed. We need to ensure that the plans are fully integrated, that the expectations of one jurisdiction merge with another, and that the state, through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), is able to understand and assist in those efforts.” The Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Homeland Security Strategy, 2007

Problem

Insert Houston Evac MapExtract from PDF

VisionInsert Boston Metro Map

What Works in Other Places?

What Works?

• “Information sharing and inter-agency coordination are clearly needed to facilitate a successful emergency incident response…”

What Doesn’t work…

Metropolitan Boston Evacuation Route Planning Setting

Challenges to creating regional collaboration in Boston

Municipal Government Structure in MA

“In most states, county governments allocate resources to smaller jurisdictions under its umbrella. But with country government all but dismantled in the Bay State, it’s difficult to orchestrate a regional approach to disaster management…” - Interview with MEMA Director Peter Judge, MEMA Public Information Officer

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Theoretical Framework• “risk assessment and risk reduction are predictably

and intensely political” (Lewis, 2000)

• The quality of local emergency preparedness varies widely and this variance reflects differences in a capacity to coordinate

(Kettl, 2003)

• Two greatest influences on building emergency management capacity:– Severity and geography of a disaster incident– Strength of collaboration prior to the incident

(Norris-Tirrell & Clay, 2006)

Norris-Tirrell and Clay, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, Spring 2006.

“collaboration can be understood as a consciously chosen tool to build emergency management capacity”

Regional Planning Coordination

Metro Boston Cities/Towns

Findings

• Our research supports current theories that advocate for collaborative planning in emergency management planning and specifically for regional evacuation route planning

• Our framework expands the application of collaborative planning by using state leadership as an administrative backbone for metropolitan areas lacking local regional government leadership

Thank You