2020 Theses Master's

Documentation of Built Heritage and Disaster Preparedness Plans

Maloney Lo, Kathleen

As flood-prone communities seek to adapt and protect heritage resources from the impact of changing weather systems and water damage, there is a greater need for alternative and affordable solutions to safeguard historic resources. Many cities are updating preservation plans to better incorporate heritage but there remains an alarming lack of representation for historic resources in hazard mitigation plans. This can lead to a lack of sufficient documentation, necessary for supporting recovery efforts. Incentivizing and sourcing funding for documentation in advance of a climate event remains a crucial component of this narrative, influencing the role of documentation in preparedness planning and recovery efforts. This thesis will examine the role of documentation in preparedness planning on a global scale, from the founding of UNESCO, and its adoption into US-based preparedness efforts, at the federal, state, and local levels focusing specifically on water-related threats. Two US case studies will be evaluated to illustrate the application of different methodologies, technology employed as well as the driving factors for initiating a preventive (or proactive) documentation project to encourage broad-scale application of these techniques.