BEECN Sites: Difference between revisions
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* Is not in the vicinity of tall trees, overhead power lines, or other utility hazards; | * Is not in the vicinity of tall trees, overhead power lines, or other utility hazards; | ||
* Is familiar to the community and following a disaster might be intuited by neighbors as a community gathering point, and is geographically central to the immediate community. | * Is familiar to the community and following a disaster might be intuited by neighbors as a community gathering point, and is geographically central to the immediate community. | ||
Bottom line, BEECN sites are intended to leverage the comfort and familiarity of known and existing community gathering points. An [https://www.pps.org/article/where-we-go-when-everything-breaks-placemaking-lessons-from-ashevilles-recovery article] examining what places became post-disaster community gathering points after Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina illustrates this succinctly: | |||
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Walkable areas with human-scaled design and natural gathering points adapted quickly. Residents moved instinctively toward familiar places—churches, public markets, corner coffee shops, community centers—and those places transformed overnight into aid stations, supply depots, and hubs for checking in on neighbors. There was natural rhythm and flow as people knew where to go, who to seek, and how to help. | |||
In contrast, where sprawl stretched across highways and disconnected lots, the story was different. With no clear civic heart or public square, people gathered wherever they could—behind warehouses, in the corners of big box parking lots. These makeshift aid sites worked for the most part, but they lacked comfort, coherence, and continuity. With no seating, shade, or sense of place, people came and went quickly, unsure of where to linger or who to follow. | |||
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Place matters in crisis. What held together after the disaster were places built for people—spaces with visibility, orientation, and adaptability. Areas where people had to improvise and start from scratch faltered and took longer to recover.<ref>''Where We Go When Everything Breaks: Placemaking Lessons from Asheville’s Recovery''. (n.d.). https://www.pps.org/article/where-we-go-when-everything-breaks-placemaking-lessons-from-ashevilles-recovery</ref> | |||
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== BEECN Site Restrictions == | |||
=== What a BEECN Site is not === | === What a BEECN Site is not === | ||
A BEECN Site is... | A BEECN Site is... | ||
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=== The question of adding new BEECN sites === | === The question of adding new BEECN sites === | ||
Adding new BEECN sites can be done, but is not advised. Aside from the challenges of placing a new equipment cache, PBEM needs to consider radio traffic load capacity at fire stations and at the EOC. Emergency radio traffic from (prospectively) 48 to 50 different sites push the limits of what the system can handle. Adding more is probably untenable. | Adding new BEECN sites can be done, but is not advised. Aside from the challenges of placing a new equipment cache, PBEM needs to consider radio traffic load capacity at fire stations and at the EOC. Emergency radio traffic from (prospectively) 48 to 50 different sites push the limits of what the system can handle. Adding more is probably untenable. | ||
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== Notes and References == | == Notes and References == | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
