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Resilience-based land use planning can help communities weather hazards like the wildfires that struck Bastrop, TX in 2011. Photo by Joe Wolf, via Flickr.

State governments play a key role in addressing the immediate aftermath of disasters. But what can they do to reduce risks before disasters happen—and how can they guide rebuilding to reduce future risks? State leaders sit at the intersection of policy and investment decisions that can ensure long-term state resilience and economic growth.

Smart Growth America’s new State Resilience section of our website to find resources, presentations, and recent news on state resilience strategies. To stay updated on new resources and opportunities about this issue, subscribe to our new resilience mailing list.

States that build in resilient ways will be better prepared to protect communities when disasters occur—and are likely to reap economic, environmental, and equity benefits even before they do. That’s a key part of smart growth development.

Smart Growth America’s State Resilience Program was developed at the 2014 State Resilience and Economic Growth Summit, hosted by the Governors’ Institute on Community Design, a Smart Growth America program funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation.