Gilbert F. White

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Gilbert Fowler White (November 26, 1911 in Chicago - October 5, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado) was a prominent American geographer, sometimes termed the "father of floodplain management". White is known predominantly for his work on natural hazards, particularly flooding, and the importance of sound water management in contemporary society. He was raised in Chicago, and studied at the University of Chicago, where he earned his B.S. in 1932 and his PhD in 1942. From 1946 to 1955 he was president of Haverford College. He then returned to Chicago as a professor of geography, where he was the central figure in the "Chicago school" of natural hazards research. In 1970, he moved to the University of Colorado. He published his last book at the age of 92 (Westcoat and White, 2003).

In 1944 White married Anne Underwood, with whom he would have three children (Will, Mary, and Frances). Anne collaborated with Gilbert in his research until her death in 1989. Gilbert remarried in 2003 to Claire Sherridan.

White was motivated by his Quaker faith to do research beneficial to humanity. As a conscientious objector to World War II, from 1942 to 1946 he served with the American Friends Service Committee aiding war refugees in France, and was briefly interned by the Nazis at Baden-Baden. He continued to serve as a leader in various Quaker service organizations for much of his life. He was also heavily involved in applying his research to reform flooding and water policy in the United States and the Middle East.

[edit] Scholarly contributions

Some of White's most notable work involved the identification and classification of adjustment mechanisms for flooding in the United States, perceptions of natural hazards, and choice of natural hazard adjustments (Hinshaw, 2006). White identified adjustments to flooding as being either structural or non-structural. He advocated, where feasible, adaptation to or accommodation of flood hazards rather than the "structural" solutions (dams and levees, for example) that dominated policy in the early 20th century. Structural adjustments, developed by engineers, are designed to modify flooding hazards so that humans are protected and can continue to live in areas that are periodically subject to flooding (floodplains). Structural adjustments included dams, levees, floodwalls and other large scale flood control structures. Non-structural adjustments are arrangements imposed by a governing body (local, regional, or national) imposed to restrict the use of floodplains, or consist of human adaptations to flood risk (Tobin and Montz, 1997).

In his influential dissertation entitled "Human adjustment to floods," published in 1945 by the University of Chicago Department of Geography, Gilbert F. White argued that an over-reliance on structural works in the United States had increased damages caused by flooding rather than decreasing them. He argued famously in this work, one of the most important contributions made by a geographer in 20th century North America (Hinshaw 2006) that "Floods are an act of God, but flood losses are largely an act of man". Public confidence in structural works increased occupance of, and building on floodplains. The reasons for an increase in flood damages caused by reliance on structural works can be associated with design standards, and over-confidence on such adaptations. Structural works were built to certain design specifications (for example, the 100-year flood, or 1% flood). In instances where the design specifications were exceeded (in the case of a 150-year flood, etc.), the structures were prone to failure, thus causing catastrophic loss in over-developed floodplains (White et al., 1958).

A recent and relevant example of the impacts of false-confidence on structural works can be seen on Hurricane Katrina's impact on New Orleans, during the summer of 2005. A significant portion of New Orleans is located in coastal floodplains, protected by structural mitigation mechanisms (floodwalls and levees.) Supposedly the structural mechanisms were built to withstand a category 3 hurricane design standard. Hurricane Katrina, a category 3 hurricane when it hit New Orleans, did not exceed the design standards of the structural mitigation mechanisms. Catastrophic flooding caused extensive damage and death would have been prevented in the Army Corps of Engineers built the flood walls correctly.

Despite "correctly" building structural hazard control mechanisms, damages caused by natural hazards are inevitable. It is now a commonly held belief in the academic hazard community that structural flood control mechanisms actually entice development in flood prone areas, as individuals believe that they will be protected. Individuals, thus, become complacent toward the hazard threat. This was one of White's central observations. Several studies have identified a lack of willingness of individuals who live in flood-prone areas to adopt proper mitigative adjustments, such as the purchase of insurance under the NFIP, or the installation of physical protection measures, such as installations of flood-proof doors and windows, or moving away from the flood-prone area. A lack of willingness to adopt adjustments reflects complacency created by the installation of engineered flood control structures (Bollens et al., 1988; Kates, 1962; Kreutzwiser et al., 1994; McPherson & Saarinen, 1977; Shrubsole et al., 1997).

By pointing out the drawbacks of structural adjustments to flooding, Gilbert F. White initiated a new era of flood mitigation, where non-structural works are integrated with structural works to reduce the impact of flooding on human populations. As a proponent of non-structural adjustments, his work helped establish the development of the National Flood Insurance Program in the United States. He worked initially under President Johnson in committees that advised the establishment of the NFIP - although he was not happy when his cautions were ignored and the NFIP was rolled out too quickly. He also made major contributions to water management in developing countries, through several research studies, committees, and even informal brokering of water management conflicts in the Middle East.

Gilbert F. White, along with his students and colleagues, have become some of the most influential intellectuals in the study of natural and technological hazards. White has over 400 publications to his name, and holds fifty awards and honorary degrees.

[edit] References

Bollens, S., Kaiser, E., & Burby, R. (1988). Evaluating the effects of local floodplain management policies on property owner behavior. Environmental Management, 12, 311-325
Hinshaw, R.E. (2006). Living with nature's extremes: the life of Gilbert Fowler White. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books.
Kates, R. (1962). Hazard and Choice Perceptio in Flood Plain Management. Department of Geography Research Paper no. 78, University of Chicago: University of Chicago
Kreutzwiser, R., Woodley, I, & Shrubsole, D. (1994). Perceptions of flood hazards and floodplain management regulations in Glen Williams, Ontario. Canadian Water Resources Journal, 19, 115-124
McPherson, H., & Saarinen, T. (1977). Floodplain dwellers' perception of the flood hazard in Tucson, Arizona. Annals of Regional Science, 11, 25-40
Mitchell, B., & Shrubsole, D. (1992). Ontario Conservation Authorities: Myth and Reality. Waterloo: University of Waterloo, Department of Geography.
Shrubsole, D., Green, M., & Scherer, J. (1997). The actual and perceived effects of floodplain land use regulation son property values in London, Ontario. Canadian Geographer, 41, 166-178
Tobin, G., and Montz, B. (1997). Natural Hazards: Explanation and Integration. New York: The Guilford Press
Wescoat, JL Jr and G.F. White. (2003). Water for Life: Water Management and Environmental Policy. Cambridge University Press.
White, G., Calef, W., Hudson, H., Mayer, H., Sheaffer, J., and Volk, D. (1958). Changes in Urban Occupance of Flood Plains in the United States. University of Chicago Department of Geography Research Paper no. 57. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
White, G. (1945). Human Adjustment to Floods. Department of Geography Research Paper no. 29. Chicago: The University of Chicago. Download [1]