New year, new plan. After 2024, I've had a great year connecting with many different organizations and finding a variety of new projects to work with. Two of my biggest highlights were meeting up with STAR-TIDES at their capabilities demo in April, and visiting Germany for the Collapse Laboratory event in August. Through those connections and others, I've been able to flesh out my own project more, as well as delve deeper into the disaster response/resilience/adaptations space (this year very US focused) and met people working in there. I'm very interested in the disaster response space because I want to see what it's like to see to rebuild communities. Seeing what breaks, and what priorities there are in fixing things is an insight to the importance of our layers of hidden infrastructure.
Update from Last Year
I increased my research from last year by branching out into different frameworks for building communities. The US Army Corps Engineers has 2 strong frameworks, the Sand Book that tells how to set up base camps in foreign territories , and the SWEAT Book telling how to rebuild an area to support the local infrastructure. The Kwajalein Atoll Sustainability Laboratory coordinates efforts of islanders and other low-elevation coastal populations in finding climate adaptation methods. There are also global SPHERE standards which direct how to support those who need humanitarian assistance. Through cross referencing these different models, a more precise, more universally applicable framework has started to emerge to show what the core infrastructures are. Alongside the frameworks for building, there were frameworks for measuring community resilience as well. Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities, Social Vulnerability Index, Socioeconomic Impacts of Natural Hazards are all datasets maintained by the University of South Carolina . The census also has Community Resilience Estimates to measure on the neighbourhood level.
The other bunch of research I was continuing was the UN declarations over the decades. Starting with the 1945 Charter of the UN, 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, and the Millennium Goals, there are a series of declarations that show what the world takes as their goals. I originally thought it showed the evolving priorities of the world, but now I'm seeing that the declarations follow different paths. They reference past documents, creating chains of ongoing commitments. There seems to be 3 main chains, those focused on Human Rights, the Environment, and Global Development. There are more that I need to include in my sheets, but haven't been able to find the source material for to put in the details. There is work done here.
In August, I was in Germany for 3 weeks at the Barracks, a post climate-catastrophe community. It was an enlightening experience to spend more time living off the land, being vegan, not having running water, and seeing what a different style of life could be. I helped with some projects such as sawmilling wood for future projects, organizing the workshop, building some solar water heaters, installing some solar panels, and learning more about the water collection/filtration systems. The Collapse Laboratory was an event that brought a dozen of us together for a week to think about what a world beyond climate collapse could look like, and if there's anything we can do now to prepare and help rebuild.
As the US election approached, I started to keep an eye on politics, to see what the upcoming years would bring. I repeatedly went through the entire Project 2025 document to see what was in store, and what our new teams would need to do to stay on top of things. I also read the Democratic party documents as well to compare/contrast, to see which goals were the most opposing and would receive the most pushback. Now that it's January and executive orders have started rolling out, I've been reading and staying on top of those to see how much of Project 2025 is coming true.
Right after Hurricane Helene, when Hurricane Milton happened, I was in DC at the time working with STAR-TIDES, and we were able to watch the damage being done and response in real time. Since then, we've stayed connected with the Helene Recovery Coalition, trying to support in any way possible. In January 2025, I went to New York for the NYU Startup Sprint to help a team explore disaster shelter options. We focused on shelters for flood/hurricanes, with Helene and Milton as case studies. While I was there, the LA fires happened, which only proved how expansive a problem disaster response was.
Moving Forwards
I've had a ton of success making connections and joining up with other projects, so I will continue to do that. Especially the NYU team Sheltrium, and the STAR-TIDES project. Through those networks, there are some other big projects brewing that I hope will be announced in the coming months. There are some other organizations I wish to get closer with, such as the Institute for Sustainable Development, we've had small bits of contact already.
I'm continuing my own research, I'm trying to figure out better ways to present data. I've made massive collections of spreadsheets, but even Im starting to lose track of what I've written down where. I've got some ideas for graphics and charts that can help consolidate and communicate ideas. Once I have some cleaner data showcases and a better way to share ideas, I believe its time to start going around my local community to find others in the same space.
2025 is a big year, better buckle up, then see what 2026 holds.