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Center for Rebuilding Sustainable
Communities after Disasters
College of Public and Community Service
University of Massachusetts at Boston
As part of its mission,
the College of Public
and Community Service hosts this
Center to help policy makers to formulate and implement
the most appropriate policies as well as embark upon
innovative sustainable projects.
CRSCD’s mission
The primary purpose
of the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities
after Disasters (CRSCD) is to work in close collaboration
with practitioners, academics, researchers, policy makers
and grassroots organizations in the United States of America
and in all the continents of the world in their search for
the most appropriate and sustainable ways to rebuild their
communities after disasters (both natural and man-made).
Examples of man-made disasters would include bad governance
and poverty, environmental pollution, AIDS, wars, and conflicts.
The Center engages in academic, service and consultancy activities.
Scope of Activities
The work of the Center is multidisciplinary,
transdisciplinary and crossdisciplinary. Its
activities include applied research, early childhood education
and family support, communications and intellectual outreach
to academic experts, other research groups and policy think-tanks.
It organizes and hosts seminars, workshops and conferences
on various aspects of post-disaster reconstruction in partnership
with public and private sector agencies in all the countries
of the world.
Specifically, CRSCD:
Assists local, national and international agencies
as well as the victims of disasters to develop practical,
sustainable and long-term solutions to the social, economic
and environmental consequences of disasters;
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Provides expert advice and training to communities
which have been devastated by disasters;
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Hosts international scholars, for specified periods
of time, who wish to work on the problems which they
consider essential to the rebuilding of their communities
after disasters; and,
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Assists in building local capacity in the field of
post-disaster reconstruction as well as in technology
transfer.
Primary Research themes
The Center engages in innovative research
under the following broad themes:
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Rebuilding sustainable communities for children and their families
post-disaster
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Rebuilding sustainable communities
for the elderly post-disaster
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The role of organizations and institutions (legal, social, health, economic,
small business developments, early childhood education, housing, sustainable
architecture, urban design and higher education) in rebuilding community
infrastructure;
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Revitalizing communities and capacity building through public and private
partnerships;
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The role of women in rebuilding sustainable communities post-disasters;
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Information technologies for sustainable community revitalization;
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The social, economic and environmental impact of disaster;
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Social, Economic and Cultural Policy for building healthier and more
equitable communities;
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Health and sustainable community development;
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Education and sustainable community development
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Institutional framework for sustainable community development;
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Disaster management and vulnerability;
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Energy for sustainable community development; and,
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Gender issues in disaster research, planning and practice.
Units within the Center
The Center has three interrelated units. These
are:
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Post-Disaster Children and Family Support Unit
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Pre-Disaster Planning Unit
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Post-Disaster Reconstruction Unit
Partnerships
The Center cultivates alliances with local,
national and international agencies, government and academic
institutions, non-governmental organizations, as well as
with for-profit and not-for-profit bodies which are interested
in the field of post-disaster reconstruction around the world.
Location
of the Center
CRSCD is a subordinate unit within the College
of Public and Community Service at the University
of Massachusetts Boston.
For further information, please contact:
Professor Adenrele Awotona
Dean
College of Public and Community Service
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
USA
Telephone: +1 617 287 7100
Fax: +1 425 984-7100
E-Mail: adenrele.awotona@umb.edu
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