Community Emergency Planning in NYC - A Toolkit for Community Leaders

2. DEFINE YOUR COMMUNITY

OBJECTIVES:

• Compile information about your community that will help you develop an emergency plan.

• Record your findings in the community overview section of your emergency plan template.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• The term “community” describes a group of people unified by common characteristics, interests, or geography.

• What is the community are you planning for? Is it your housing complex? Congregation? Community district? Your whole neighborhood, or certain blocks within it?

• The factors that make your community unique should be incorporated into your emergency plan.

TO DO:

1. Print out a map of the area that you are considering. Does the community you are planning for have boundaries or are you planning for multiple geographic areas?

2. Use available resources to fill out the community overview section of your emergency plan template. Discuss other factors or defining characteristics that are relevant to your specific community’s planning process and add them to your plan.

   • Population

   • Elected Representation

   • Social

   • Economy

   • Business/Industry

   • Environment/Geography

   • History

   • Culture