The Untapped Potential of Ethnic Community Networks: Urban Resiliency and the Chinese Commuter Van System in New York City

Community resiliency begins at the local level. This explores the intersection of urban resiliency with the strength of community transit networks by evaluating the extensive Chinese immigrant inter-borough commuter van system in New York City. How should the city better empower and utilize existing immigrant transit and support networks in its strategic planning in response to disaster relief, recovery, and resiliency? More broadly, how can cities harness the realities of the 21st century - migration and climate change - and realize their potential to improve accessibility and reach in disaster relief? Better understanding the way the van system works within the community and links geographically distant neighborhoods underscores how immigrant neighborhoods bring different corners of the city together, which on a local level provides additional legitimacy to existing networks of support in migrant communities. I recommend that informality and im/migrant systems are recognized and supported through New York City\u27s recovery and resiliency efforts of OneNYC, and as a model for other global cities, to embed supporting existing networks in im/migrant communities into disaster preparedness

Exploring the Impact of Disaster Response Preparedness by the New York State Military Forces to the World Trade Center September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks

The problem identified in this study concerned the impact of disaster response preparedness (DRP) from the past, present, and future perspectives. The study explored the experiences of four survivors from the 1993 WTC bombing, the effectiveness of seven New York State Military Forces (NYSMF) deployed to Ground Zero (GZ), and perspectives of five Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals on DRP operations going forward from 9/11. Following an explorative heuristic research approach, the study utilized a qualitative and content analysis methodology (both qualitative and quantitative aspects) to investigate the problem using published archival interviews from the informants. Minimally, hypothesis testing, and descriptive and inferential statistics formed part of the data analysis. The results showed that the survivors of 1993 attack on the WTC experienced no interaction with first responders and were without DRP guidance. The NYSMF informants responded within 24 hours of the 9/11 WTC attacks, but were instructed to play a determinate role, as military force was deemed not appropriate to the situation on the ground. NYSMF augmented the roles of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and other first responders by conducting perimeter security at GZ. The EMS informants developed and implemented contingency plans to study DRP, and trained organizations and municipalities in the preparation for future disasters