SGER: The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism: A Research Agenda for the Discipline

Association Of American Geographers, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The September 11,2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon prompted immediate and longer-term concerns about the nature of vulnerabilities to terrorism and the more general nature of societal responses to environmental, biological, chemical, and terrorist security threats. As different scientific communities have assessed the "new realities" revealed by the terrorist attacks and subsequent promulgation of anthrax through the mails, geographers have identified a broad range of ways in which they can contribute to deeper understandings of the causes, consequences, and responses to terrorism. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research will expand the examination of geographic dimensions of terrorism-related research through two related sets of activities. First, faculty and students from Hunter College of the City University of New York, the University of Colorado-Denver, and the University of South Carolina will conduct a pilot project to assess the role and utility of geographic information in emergency management and response to the World Trade Center attack. This pilot study will briefly summarize the knowledge base on the use of geographic technology in hazards response and what has been learned to date. It will evaluate local experiences in providing spatial data in support of rescue, relief, and recovery efforts; and it will include a broader survey on the use of geographical technologies during the immediate-response phase for the first three weeks following the disaster. A combination of web-based sources, media accounts, and personal interviews will be used to gather the necessary data. The second part of this project will include the conduct of a workshop during late 2001 or early 2002 to formulate a more substantive research agenda on the geographical dimensions of terrorism. Using the pilot study as a backdrop for discussion, participants identified through their extant research and from submissions evaluated by workshop organizers will develop a general research agenda that provides a clearly focused set of research themes, needs, and tasks. The agenda will be widely disseminated to the geographic research community and to related disciplines. The outcomes of the workshop include: a published book or article on the material prepared for the workshop, establishment of multi-institutional research collaboratives, and the enhancement of the research infrastructure of the discipline to address important public policy needs and issues. This project will have both immediate and longer-term benefits. The pilot study will coalesce knowledge about the ways that geographic information technologies were used in response to the September 11 attacks, and it will address wider-ranging issues associated with the anticipation of and responses to cataclysmic events. Th workshop will provide a forum for the development of a more fully articulated research agenda, and it will be a setting to stimulate dialogue among academic researchers, private-sector practitioners, and federal, state, and local government officials. The resulting agenda and expanded networks should facilitate the capabilities of geographers to respond to this pressing national concern.