Design and Prototyping of a Community Response Grid (CRG) for a University Campus

Pervasive and networked information and communication technology (ICT) has expanded the possibility for community participation in disaster response. This article describes the design and prototyping of a community-based emergency response system for a university campus. The main purposes of the system are to provide both top-down and bottom-up communication channels for information dissemination and gathering, and to facilitate peer-to-peer help within the community. Key design issues and challenges are discussed.