After year of natural disasters, universities in Boston prepare for their own

The 2011 Boston Urban Symposium, hosted by Boston University’s City Planning and Urban Affairs Programs, addressed methods of countering disasters through elaborate city planning in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and last year’s earthquake in Haiti, specifically pertaining to university preparation and emergency response to disaster.

The symposium was held Monday night at the School of Hospitality and was attended by more than 50 students and faculty.

Donald Zizzi, a professor of regional and urban economics in the Metropolitan College, began the conversation by discussing the economic impact of the higher education cluster in the Boston area and the impact on the regional economy if such the universities were lost.

Zizzi explained the related risk of disasters like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and the rising of sea level.

“Boston ranks quite high in the calculation of risks as far as its physical infrastructure, population, economy and exposure,” Zizzi said. “We have to find ways to assert these probabilities.”

A natural disaster could cause long-term economic impacts on the region, he said.

“Natural disasters affect economies in two ways–by destroying capital stock and by damaging the market. The first way deals with the productive assets, whereas the latter affects directly the supply of products in the economy.”

Zizzi stressed the importance of human capital generated by the universities.

“Enriching human capital translates knowledge into new business, products, jobs and opportunities of all kinds, while also enhancing broad intellectual curiosity,” he said. “This is exactly where universities are undersold to the public.”

June Kevorkian, the director of program and administration at the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, gave an overview of the Consortium and its importance in the Boston community.

The Boston Consortium is a collaborative organization that includes 15 universities, including BU.

“Every member pays equal amounts of money and contributes grant funds which are invested on pilot programs that can be helpful to all participatory institutions,” she said. “The consortium is a liaison between agencies and institutions, and aims to help them get a handle of such an enormous task. It is a quick and easy vehicle to distribute information around.”

Kevorkian said the financial crisis, while striking hard at all institutions, did not hinder the collaboration.

“Curiously, even more great stuff happened between the institutions. The environment for schools to talk and share ideas with each other was positively enhanced.”

“Establishing relationships is vital for a time of crisis,” Kevorkian added. “Thanks to them, schools will stand up and help each other in a dire moment of need,” she added.

Steve Morash, director of emergency response planning at BU directed the discussion towards the current situation of emergency planning at BU.

“People need to understand that this is not rocket science, but easy business, and hence get a better awareness over the issue,” Morash said.

Morash gave the audience a brief overview of BU’s emergency management program.

“Preparedness is also a very important factor in our effort to support and enhance mitigation,” Morash said. “But, one needs to remember that there are also many complications to this issue.”

Audience members said they found the panel very informative.

“After observing the presentation on educational institutions and the economic impacts in the Boston area, I’ve realized that sometimes it’s harder to plan for emergencies, than have no evacuation plan in place, when dealing with mass evacuations,” said Brian Magee, a graduate student in MET’s urban affairs program.

“I was very pleased to find all that is happening. It is quite impressive to see the amount of preparation in BU for disasters,” said Erik Benson, a graduate student in MET’s city planning and urban affairs program.