Join NEN Director Daniel Homsey and Laurence Kornfield on a visual tour of the Safe Enough to Stay Exhibit at San Francisco planning and Urban Research Association.
Under the leadership of Laurence Kornfield, Program Manager for the Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety and the San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR), Safe Enough to Stay was designed to advance the concept of “Sheltering in Place” after an earthquake in San Francisco. The goal of the exhibit is to empower residents with the knowledge that small adjustments to their homes will allow them to continue to use the structure in a sanitary and efficient wayafter it has been deemed structurally sound and livable. For example, residents are advised to utilize plastic sheeting in order to cover broken windows and doors as well as to familiarize themselves with their unit’s gas and water shutoff systems in the event of a leak or failure.
At the heart of the Safe to Stay exhibit is the proof of concept design called the Neighborhood Support Center (NSC). The NSC will function as a neighborhood information center that is designed to provide residents with access to resources and relevant information concerning their community. The idea is that by creating a hyper local informational gathering point that is focused on the needs of the immediate vicinity, the Neighborhood Support Centers will offer an invaluable safety net to residents in the days, weeks and months after a major event.
Safe Enough to Stay [google-map-sc]
SPUR
654 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
94105-4015
415.781.8726
How does this process fit with the neighborhood efforts that NERT is putting together? Is Lafayette Park the site of a “Neighborhood Support Center”? NERT refers to Lafayette Park as an emergency “staging area”. Is this an official policy? An official term? I hope this ‘alphabet soup’ becomes clearer to neighbors soon. Thanks for your efforts.
Excellent effort. This is the beginning of the serious promotion of the Sheltering-in-Place strategy for San Franciscans following an earthquake. Starting with the smaller items like enough rolls of thick plastic sheets for window coverings, we can move the conversation onward towards the structural sheer-walling, extra foundation bolting, Hardy Framing and Moment Framing for the many soft-story buildings across the city. Sheer walling etc. can prevent us from having to house tens of thousands of residents in long-term shelters. Instead, the majority of our buildings and houses will remain standing and safe enough that the original residents can remain in their homes following the initial catastrophic event – a much better option.