AMES, Iowa – Should our neighborhood stay where it is and rebuild or move to higher ground? That’s the topic for the last of four Iowa State University Extension online conferences on flood cleanup and rebuilding issues Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

This session will cover issues that neighborhoods and communities face as they consider whether to rebuild in the area that flooded or to move entire neighborhoods or communities to new locations, said Daniel Otto, associate director, ISU Extension Community and Economic Development.

Speakers will discuss moving homes as well as entire neighborhoods out of the flood plain, building affordable housing, moving existing homes from the flood plain to a new location and reducing the impact of future flooding.  Lessons from the 1993 flood and community rebuilding and relocation efforts also will be discussed, Otto said.

ISU Extension Sociologist Paul Lasley will discuss neighborhood and social network issues including the importance of social networks in a community and the role of neighborhoods in restoration and rebuilding.

Gary Taylor, an ISU Extension specialist in community and regional planning, will talk about zoning and planning issues in both flood plain rebuilding and relocation.

Susan Erickson, an ISU Extension specialist in the Department of Landscape Architecture, will discuss community and neighborhood design considerations in rebuilding or relocating. She’ll also discuss lessons Iowans can learn from Greenberg, Kans., as well as sustainable design.

Richard Schultz, a professor in ISU’s Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, will address upstream flood management issues and strategies.

Iowans can participate in the conference in either of two ways, Otto said. They can contact their local ISU Extension county office to view the conference. Some offices in flood-affected areas will be participating remotely in the live conference.

Or, Iowans can log in to the conference from their home computers at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/rebuilding/. People choosing this option should check the test site, www.extension.iastate.edu/testconnect/, sometime before the conference to make sure their computers are compatible with the Web conferencing software. You will need a computer that is no more than three years old, a good broadband Internet connection (wireless can work, but is not recommended), and speakers to hear the presentation.

This conference will be archived on the ISU Extension Web site, as are the three previous conferences, at www.extension.iastate.edu/disasterrecovery/.

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