William Siembieda - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by William Siembieda

Focus, 2013

In this article, professor William Siembieda presents some of the individual projects developed b... more In this article, professor William Siembieda presents some of the individual projects developed by the MCRP students in-lieu of a thesis or a professional abstract. They choose projects that can be helpful to a local jurisdiction. Presented here are four projects developed in the class for the cities of Clearlake and Bell, California.

This report presents an overview of the earthquake-induced changes that were observed to have aff... more This report presents an overview of the earthquake-induced changes that were observed to have affected the city's response to flood events. Following this Chapter 1 introduction, the second chapter presents a historical perspective of flooding and threats to Christchurch and an overview of the 5 March, 2014 flood event. Chapter 3 describes land deformations resulting from the Canterbury earthquake sequence and descriptions on how these deformations related to increased flood risk in The detailed effects of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence were presented in two previous GEER reports:

En muchos paises latinoamericanos esta cambiando la naturaleza del Estado: de ser controlador cen... more En muchos paises latinoamericanos esta cambiando la naturaleza del Estado: de ser controlador central de la politica economica sectorial a por­tero neoliberal de los mercados abiertos. Este cambio requiere repen­sar como dirigir, influir e intervenir en un importante sector de politica urbana: los mercados de terrenos.El creciente interes en el sector de terrenos urbanos por parte de or­ganismos financieros internacionales y de los gobiernos nacionales (Banco Mundial, 1994; Farvaque y McAuslan, 1992; Balandro, 1994; Silva, 1994) indica que la manera en que las ciudades funcionan a nivel micro-espacial surge como un elemento del pensamiento contemporaneo acerca de la politica de desarrollo. A los administradores publicos de areas urbanas se les dan mas responsa­bilidades pero con menos recursos, apoyo tecnico central decreciente y direccion parcial de sus politicas.

The Routledge Handbook of Regional Design, 2021

Activism in Architecture, 2018

La estan empleando en ciudades (Rio de Janeiro, Quebec, Santiago y San Francisco), en estados (Or... more La estan empleando en ciudades (Rio de Janeiro, Quebec, Santiago y San Francisco), en estados (Oregon, Utah y Minnesota) y en tierras tribales (San Juan Pueblo, Nuevo Mexico, Esta­dos Unidos).La planeacion estrategica se utiliza actualmente en el sector publico mas que antes. ?Por que se esta utilizan­do? ?En que consiste? ?Como se pue­de aplicar y como deben usarla en los niveles estatal y municipal las organizaciones publicas sin fines de lucro y gubernamentales? Este articulo presenta una breve historia de la forma en que ha evolucionado la planeacion estrategica, examina su posible aplicacion en el sector publi­co, identifica factores comunes, describe un modelo general y presenta ejemplos de la forma en que se prac­tica en America del Norte y en Ame­rica del Sur.

Major disasters create new conditions and adaptation of policy for recovery and reconstruction mu... more Major disasters create new conditions and adaptation of policy for recovery and reconstruction must occur in response to the new physical changes. Christchurch, New Zealand has historically been prone to earthquake and floods and had developed policy to related to management and damage. Following the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) new policies were developed for recovery. Starting in 2013, it became clear that flooding in the area had increased due to the CES. This paper examines how policy has changed in Christchurch New Zealand related to both natural hazards and discusses where potential gaps appear in current policy

Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management, 2015

The complexity of cascading hazard events create discontinuities for public policy makers. This i... more The complexity of cascading hazard events create discontinuities for public policy makers. This is especially true in cities where the urban services may be operated by different government agencies. This paper provides a case study of an urban region, Christchurch, New Zealand, experiencing cascading events: earthquakes and floods, and how the national and local policy adapted to future risk and recovery challenges. This main variables examined are: the process of information collection, transfer, and utilization in policy adaptation to the hazard events. In this case, the national government made quick decisions based on geoscience information, while local government chose incremental adjustments based on geotechnical and hydrological information.

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

This special issue of JDR is centered on the theme of “Building Local Capacity for Long-term Disa... more This special issue of JDR is centered on the theme of “Building Local Capacity for Long-term Disaster Resilience.” Eight papers and one commentary describe challenges in various countries of promoting disaster resilience at local, sub-national, and national levels. Resilience is broadly defined here as the capacity of a community to: 1) survive amajor disaster; 2) retain essential structure and functions; and 3) adapt to post-disaster opportunities for transforming community structure and functions to meet new challenges. This working definition is similar to others put forward in the growing literature on resilience. Resilience can also be seen as an element of sustainability. Initially referring only to environmental conditions, the concept of sustainable development was defined as that which meets the needs of present generations while not compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Bruntland Commission, Our Common Future, 1987). Now, the term sustaina...

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

On February 27, 2010, an earthquake of momentmagnitude 8.8 struck the central Pacific coast of Ch... more On February 27, 2010, an earthquake of momentmagnitude 8.8 struck the central Pacific coast of Chile, triggering a tsunami and causing severe shaking along nearly 600 km of coastline from Viña del Mar in the north to Concepción and beyond in the south. This disaster tested the country’s government disaster management capacity as well as its built environment. Despite the large amount of energy released in this event and the large area affected, the actual impacts were limited in terms of severity and in terms of geographic dispersion and loss of life. A set of observations on the impact, mitigation, and response that were obtained during a disaster reconnaissance survey organized by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and extended from March 12-22 are presented. Using the concept of disaster resiliency these observations attempt to tie to past and current efforts within the government and within the local communities to explore the question: how resilient was Chile ...

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

This paper develops the asset-access-time (AAT) model. The model has three variables: assets, acc... more This paper develops the asset-access-time (AAT) model. The model has three variables: assets, access, and time.Assetsare resources (economic, physical, human and institutional) available to households, communities and governments.Accessis the ability to use the assets after a disaster event occurs.Timeis a dynamic variable influencing when an asset is available to a user and influences its asset value. The combination of the three variables and how they are linked to classes of people, institutions, and places is discussed. Section 1 develops the model components in a linear and rational fashion and provides some examples. Section 2 describes how this model can be adapted to meet local requirements through an example in El Salvador. The model can be used to build a disaster resilience profile. This paper is part of a larger exploration of “asset-based mitigation,” a process of vulnerability reduction through pre-disaster investments in asset protection. Policy implications for disas...

Focus, 2012

His research is represented by this article in which he discusses the recovery processes in three... more His research is represented by this article in which he discusses the recovery processes in three countries after major natural disasters, and the lessons for California. R ecovery from a large disaster event is a complex process. It is a process of life recovery, where part of the past no longer exists and what is the future depends on many decisions that involve people we sometimes do not know. City planners cer tainly can be of help in the recovery process as usually there are many land use, city design, sustainability, community de velopment, safety and transportation issues involved. While people would like to live in the same place as they did before a disaster, many times this is not possible; so in part, recovery is about inventing the future.

This study of graduate student socialization in Departments of Political Science is based on data... more This study of graduate student socialization in Departments of Political Science is based on data collected in 14 departments cf broadly representative Ph.D. granting institutions in the U.S. All students and faculty in all departments were sent a questionnaire asking about their attitude toward the profession, their program of study, their relati-ns with others in the department, and academic values. The mean values of student and faculty responses were correlated, and analyses were made of departmental, as well as individual differences. There appeared to be two "pure" types of departments. Type I departments had a high rate of interaction between students and faculty, accurate perceptions between the two groups, high morale on the part of the students, and relatively high disagreement between students and faculty on substantive and political matters. These departments also had higher student satisfaction with the relevance of their graduate training. Type II departments were the opposite in each case. Type I departments provided an environment that supported differences between faculty and students, while the hierarchical structure, lack of communication and low morale in the Type II departments led to conformity on the part of the students.

URBAN DESIGN International

International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2012

Large-scale disaster events in Japan (2011), New Zealand (2011), Chile (2010), and China (2008) g... more Large-scale disaster events in Japan (2011), New Zealand (2011), Chile (2010), and China (2008) generate a need for understanding the dynamics of multilocation disaster recovery. This article uses analogs from contemporary economic theory to model recovery interactions over time and over large geographic areas. The model consists of the external and internal sectors and how they engage in transactions during the recovery period. The concept of transaction is developed and its use as a policy tool explored. The concepts of friction and uncertainty are introduced as barriers to efficient and effective completion of the transactions needed for recovery. Friction adds time and resource costs, while uncertainty slows the completion of transactions entered into by recovery stakeholders.

Journal of the American Planning Association, 2014

Adapting to Climate Change, 2014

This chapter examines the multi-sector resiliency and climate adaptation approaches undertaken by... more This chapter examines the multi-sector resiliency and climate adaptation approaches undertaken by the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Berkeley and San Francisco. The Paton and Johnston disaster resiliency model is used to assess the adaptive capacity of these two cities. Findings show that "partnering" with civic, business and community based organisations (CBO) is a central element for pro- ducing sustainable resiliency and lowering disaster risk. San Francisco adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2004, followed by Berkeley in 2009. Both cities use state government-generated data to assess risk and their own funding to lower risk and adapt to climate change. The key lesson uncovered in this analysis is that it matters less which level of government (local, state, federal) provides guidance; rather it matters more that guidance is based on accepted science that can be easily accessed and used by anyone interested in resiliency and climate change adaptation.

Focus, 2013

In this article, professor William Siembieda presents some of the individual projects developed b... more In this article, professor William Siembieda presents some of the individual projects developed by the MCRP students in-lieu of a thesis or a professional abstract. They choose projects that can be helpful to a local jurisdiction. Presented here are four projects developed in the class for the cities of Clearlake and Bell, California.

This report presents an overview of the earthquake-induced changes that were observed to have aff... more This report presents an overview of the earthquake-induced changes that were observed to have affected the city's response to flood events. Following this Chapter 1 introduction, the second chapter presents a historical perspective of flooding and threats to Christchurch and an overview of the 5 March, 2014 flood event. Chapter 3 describes land deformations resulting from the Canterbury earthquake sequence and descriptions on how these deformations related to increased flood risk in The detailed effects of the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence were presented in two previous GEER reports:

En muchos paises latinoamericanos esta cambiando la naturaleza del Estado: de ser controlador cen... more En muchos paises latinoamericanos esta cambiando la naturaleza del Estado: de ser controlador central de la politica economica sectorial a por­tero neoliberal de los mercados abiertos. Este cambio requiere repen­sar como dirigir, influir e intervenir en un importante sector de politica urbana: los mercados de terrenos.El creciente interes en el sector de terrenos urbanos por parte de or­ganismos financieros internacionales y de los gobiernos nacionales (Banco Mundial, 1994; Farvaque y McAuslan, 1992; Balandro, 1994; Silva, 1994) indica que la manera en que las ciudades funcionan a nivel micro-espacial surge como un elemento del pensamiento contemporaneo acerca de la politica de desarrollo. A los administradores publicos de areas urbanas se les dan mas responsa­bilidades pero con menos recursos, apoyo tecnico central decreciente y direccion parcial de sus politicas.

The Routledge Handbook of Regional Design, 2021

Activism in Architecture, 2018

La estan empleando en ciudades (Rio de Janeiro, Quebec, Santiago y San Francisco), en estados (Or... more La estan empleando en ciudades (Rio de Janeiro, Quebec, Santiago y San Francisco), en estados (Oregon, Utah y Minnesota) y en tierras tribales (San Juan Pueblo, Nuevo Mexico, Esta­dos Unidos).La planeacion estrategica se utiliza actualmente en el sector publico mas que antes. ?Por que se esta utilizan­do? ?En que consiste? ?Como se pue­de aplicar y como deben usarla en los niveles estatal y municipal las organizaciones publicas sin fines de lucro y gubernamentales? Este articulo presenta una breve historia de la forma en que ha evolucionado la planeacion estrategica, examina su posible aplicacion en el sector publi­co, identifica factores comunes, describe un modelo general y presenta ejemplos de la forma en que se prac­tica en America del Norte y en Ame­rica del Sur.

Major disasters create new conditions and adaptation of policy for recovery and reconstruction mu... more Major disasters create new conditions and adaptation of policy for recovery and reconstruction must occur in response to the new physical changes. Christchurch, New Zealand has historically been prone to earthquake and floods and had developed policy to related to management and damage. Following the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) new policies were developed for recovery. Starting in 2013, it became clear that flooding in the area had increased due to the CES. This paper examines how policy has changed in Christchurch New Zealand related to both natural hazards and discusses where potential gaps appear in current policy

Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management, 2015

The complexity of cascading hazard events create discontinuities for public policy makers. This i... more The complexity of cascading hazard events create discontinuities for public policy makers. This is especially true in cities where the urban services may be operated by different government agencies. This paper provides a case study of an urban region, Christchurch, New Zealand, experiencing cascading events: earthquakes and floods, and how the national and local policy adapted to future risk and recovery challenges. This main variables examined are: the process of information collection, transfer, and utilization in policy adaptation to the hazard events. In this case, the national government made quick decisions based on geoscience information, while local government chose incremental adjustments based on geotechnical and hydrological information.

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

This special issue of JDR is centered on the theme of “Building Local Capacity for Long-term Disa... more This special issue of JDR is centered on the theme of “Building Local Capacity for Long-term Disaster Resilience.” Eight papers and one commentary describe challenges in various countries of promoting disaster resilience at local, sub-national, and national levels. Resilience is broadly defined here as the capacity of a community to: 1) survive amajor disaster; 2) retain essential structure and functions; and 3) adapt to post-disaster opportunities for transforming community structure and functions to meet new challenges. This working definition is similar to others put forward in the growing literature on resilience. Resilience can also be seen as an element of sustainability. Initially referring only to environmental conditions, the concept of sustainable development was defined as that which meets the needs of present generations while not compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Bruntland Commission, Our Common Future, 1987). Now, the term sustaina...

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

On February 27, 2010, an earthquake of momentmagnitude 8.8 struck the central Pacific coast of Ch... more On February 27, 2010, an earthquake of momentmagnitude 8.8 struck the central Pacific coast of Chile, triggering a tsunami and causing severe shaking along nearly 600 km of coastline from Viña del Mar in the north to Concepción and beyond in the south. This disaster tested the country’s government disaster management capacity as well as its built environment. Despite the large amount of energy released in this event and the large area affected, the actual impacts were limited in terms of severity and in terms of geographic dispersion and loss of life. A set of observations on the impact, mitigation, and response that were obtained during a disaster reconnaissance survey organized by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and extended from March 12-22 are presented. Using the concept of disaster resiliency these observations attempt to tie to past and current efforts within the government and within the local communities to explore the question: how resilient was Chile ...

Journal of Disaster Research, 2010

This paper develops the asset-access-time (AAT) model. The model has three variables: assets, acc... more This paper develops the asset-access-time (AAT) model. The model has three variables: assets, access, and time.Assetsare resources (economic, physical, human and institutional) available to households, communities and governments.Accessis the ability to use the assets after a disaster event occurs.Timeis a dynamic variable influencing when an asset is available to a user and influences its asset value. The combination of the three variables and how they are linked to classes of people, institutions, and places is discussed. Section 1 develops the model components in a linear and rational fashion and provides some examples. Section 2 describes how this model can be adapted to meet local requirements through an example in El Salvador. The model can be used to build a disaster resilience profile. This paper is part of a larger exploration of “asset-based mitigation,” a process of vulnerability reduction through pre-disaster investments in asset protection. Policy implications for disas...

Focus, 2012

His research is represented by this article in which he discusses the recovery processes in three... more His research is represented by this article in which he discusses the recovery processes in three countries after major natural disasters, and the lessons for California. R ecovery from a large disaster event is a complex process. It is a process of life recovery, where part of the past no longer exists and what is the future depends on many decisions that involve people we sometimes do not know. City planners cer tainly can be of help in the recovery process as usually there are many land use, city design, sustainability, community de velopment, safety and transportation issues involved. While people would like to live in the same place as they did before a disaster, many times this is not possible; so in part, recovery is about inventing the future.

This study of graduate student socialization in Departments of Political Science is based on data... more This study of graduate student socialization in Departments of Political Science is based on data collected in 14 departments cf broadly representative Ph.D. granting institutions in the U.S. All students and faculty in all departments were sent a questionnaire asking about their attitude toward the profession, their program of study, their relati-ns with others in the department, and academic values. The mean values of student and faculty responses were correlated, and analyses were made of departmental, as well as individual differences. There appeared to be two "pure" types of departments. Type I departments had a high rate of interaction between students and faculty, accurate perceptions between the two groups, high morale on the part of the students, and relatively high disagreement between students and faculty on substantive and political matters. These departments also had higher student satisfaction with the relevance of their graduate training. Type II departments were the opposite in each case. Type I departments provided an environment that supported differences between faculty and students, while the hierarchical structure, lack of communication and low morale in the Type II departments led to conformity on the part of the students.

URBAN DESIGN International

International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2012

Large-scale disaster events in Japan (2011), New Zealand (2011), Chile (2010), and China (2008) g... more Large-scale disaster events in Japan (2011), New Zealand (2011), Chile (2010), and China (2008) generate a need for understanding the dynamics of multilocation disaster recovery. This article uses analogs from contemporary economic theory to model recovery interactions over time and over large geographic areas. The model consists of the external and internal sectors and how they engage in transactions during the recovery period. The concept of transaction is developed and its use as a policy tool explored. The concepts of friction and uncertainty are introduced as barriers to efficient and effective completion of the transactions needed for recovery. Friction adds time and resource costs, while uncertainty slows the completion of transactions entered into by recovery stakeholders.

Journal of the American Planning Association, 2014

Adapting to Climate Change, 2014

This chapter examines the multi-sector resiliency and climate adaptation approaches undertaken by... more This chapter examines the multi-sector resiliency and climate adaptation approaches undertaken by the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Berkeley and San Francisco. The Paton and Johnston disaster resiliency model is used to assess the adaptive capacity of these two cities. Findings show that "partnering" with civic, business and community based organisations (CBO) is a central element for pro- ducing sustainable resiliency and lowering disaster risk. San Francisco adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2004, followed by Berkeley in 2009. Both cities use state government-generated data to assess risk and their own funding to lower risk and adapt to climate change. The key lesson uncovered in this analysis is that it matters less which level of government (local, state, federal) provides guidance; rather it matters more that guidance is based on accepted science that can be easily accessed and used by anyone interested in resiliency and climate change adaptation.