Smart Development Starts with Risk Awareness

Unfortunately, no community is safe from disaster. Sure, some places may not have tornadoes and wildfires, but blackouts and man-made disasters can still strike. That said, carefully planning and developing communities can protect people from such disasters.

Smart development can also help improve the quality of life within these communities. It’s hard for many business owners, developers, and community members to understand this until they understand the risks involved.

Follow along as we explore how smart development relates to risk awareness and mitigation.

We Can’t Develop Safe Communities Without Identifying Risks

Whether it be a new community development or an industrial complex, nowhere is immune to disasters. Developing communities and running safe work environments is possible only if everyone knows the risks. Even the safest communities are vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters.

Planning safe, practical communities relies on the people in charge educating everyone about potential disasters. Educating the public and implementing a disaster response plan is the only way to develop smart, safe communities. Today, smart development is the only way to minimize the damage such disasters can cause.

This development strategy can also help encourage a strong sense of unity and give people pride in their communities. Smart development is nuanced and entails many steps and variables, such as:

1. Make the Most of Existing Land

It’s no secret that developing neighborhoods, businesses, and industrial complexes can take a toll on the environment. However, we can reduce our carbon footprint through smart development by making the most of existing land. The closer everything is, the more easily everyone can visit businesses, hospitals, and pharmacies.

This can also help reduce heavy traffic and help those who use public transportation. Continually building in developed areas also helps reduce the severity of disasters. After all, businesses and neighborhoods in remote and coastal areas are often most vulnerable to natural disasters.

The more people understand this, the more they will consider disaster preparedness when developing communities. Evacuation is also much easier if people are concentrated in neighborhoods that aren’t spread far apart.

2. Encourage Walkability

Many people get used to the daily grind of sitting in traffic for a long time on the way to and from work. That’s especially true in big, spread-out cities with tens or hundreds of thousands of drivers. Not only is heavy traffic bad for the environment, but there is also a significant risk of injury and death.

That’s why improving walkability is such an important part of smart development. Carefully planning neighborhoods to ensure people can easily walk to and from their homes to local businesses and work can reduce risks. This can significantly reduce the carbon footprint in traditionally high-traffic communities.

Traffic fatalities and injuries can also plummet, and that alone is worth the effort to boost walkability. More people will get on board with this if they understand how their community will become much safer. Reducing traffic can also aid evacuation efforts during disasters, both natural and man-made.

3. Protect Natural Land

Sadly, many of the worst natural disasters, like wildfires, occur in places where homes and businesses shouldn’t exist. For example, California is home to many highly developed areas surrounded by dry brush. Many tragic wildfires occur in these areas, where homes and businesses burn down.

Such wildfires would be far less devastating if developers had never built homes and businesses there. By protecting undeveloped areas, we can ensure they don’t fall victim to manmade disasters. Doing so can also ensure that natural disasters in such areas don’t spread to nearby homes and businesses.

This makes it much easier for emergency services to protect the public. Overdeveloping open land can also create harmful emissions and simply make the area look less beautiful. Careful planning and smart growth can ensure that open land is left untouched.

4. Create a Strong Community

People within a well-developed community can benefit from the layout and planning in many ways. A wealth of nearby resources can encourage healthy behaviors and habits. The ability to access everything you need within a small radius gives little reason to venture too far out.

This can encourage a strong sense of community among people who may otherwise have many differences. That’s especially true if the businesses, community centers, and public art reflect the people who live in the area. Encouraging unity can help reduce crime and shed light on cultural and racial disparities.

That way, there isn’t such a separation between groups of people, whether it be by class or culture. Some may argue that a strong sense of community can help prevent social unrest or at least lessen the severity. After all, we’re all people and should come together for the betterment of the community.

5. Hold Businesses and Corporations Accountable

The average person would probably tell you they’re not thrilled with natural resources being squandered. They may also tell you they don’t like everything being so widespread, whether it be because of traffic or the lack of free time most people have. Smart development only works if businesses and corporations understand why it’s important and how it affects the public.

Business owners and developers often inconvenience and endanger communities by overdeveloping open land. Similarly, they can endanger communities by stacking too many businesses and industrial complexes in small areas. Educating the public about such dangers can ensure more people hold business owners and corporations accountable.

After all, who wouldn’t want to live in a nice, comfortable community with clean air? Overcrowded, overdeveloped communities are in danger from all kinds of disasters. Smart development aims to combat this and protect the people within communities.

Smart Development Boasts Inarguable Benefits

Today, smart development is more important than ever. Climate change, natural disasters, man-made disasters, and harmful emissions threaten communities throughout the country. Land developers, city councils, and community planners can protect their neighbors by prioritizing their safety when developing neighborhoods.

The more people understand the risks, the less likely they are to let irresponsible community development go on around them.