How do the Mitigation 20/20™ programs work with other available information and common planning tools, such as GIS?
The Mitigation 20/20™ planning approach relies on the concept that the “best judgment” of knowledgeable state and local officials, using “readily available data” is very satisfactory for developing a mitigation plan. However, the approach expects that planners will access existing, available data while using Mitigation 20/20™. Such information is likely to include other technical studies, hazard maps such as flood plain maps, demographic studies, property value assessments, etc. Often some of this information will be available as data in geographic information systems (GIS). In order to take advantage of such information, the local level Mitigation 20/20™ program incorporates ArcExplorer, a public-domain software program that is a registered trademark of ESRI. If such information is available, it should be reviewed carefully as Mitigation 20/20™ is used to document relevant decisions, judgments and conclusions in the context of developing a mitigation plan.
