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As I write this, California is grappling with its most destructive fires in history. These wildfires have claimed at least 25 lives and displaced over 100,000 people. A flood of information (and misinformation) circulates about why this happened: water mismanagement, infrastructure failures, poor funding decisions, and the inability of our government to respond effectively to crises of this scale. The overwhelming volume of unverified information makes it difficult to understand what went wrong and, more importantly, how to prevent such disasters in the future or at least better prepare for them. So, are our programs and policies effective in addressing such crises? Are they allocating sufficient resources, or are they setting ambitious goals that are difficult to achieve? Are they focusing on the most critical priorities to protect our communities, assets, and lives? Can we achieve lasting solutions without fundamentally changing how we build and plan our cities?
Answering these questions is vital as we face a future with more wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. In an era of disinformation and declining trust, a systematic evaluation of the potential and actual impacts of our programs and policies is essential.
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