Almost everyone engages in some level of preparedness and critical thinking, especially concerning protecting themselves and their loved ones from disaster situations. For instance, people secure various types of insurance, such as car insurance, home insurance, or health insurance.
As of 2022, approximately 92% of individuals in the USA held some form of insurance coverage. Insurance serves as a safety net for unforeseen emergencies, enabling individuals to be better equipped to face unexpected situations (Keisler-Starkey et al., 2023). Here are additional methods individuals use to safeguard their future.
- putting money in savings accounts
- investing in retirement savings
- estate and inheritance planning
- investing in one’s health by consuming good food and doing exercise
And so, it’s clear that proactive taking measures to safeguard oneself is a choice made by many. Now, what exactly does urban preparation include? It goes beyond the “usual” steps and involves a more critical approach to city living.
Often, individuals focus on preparing for disasters that may impact only themselves or their immediate families, overlooking the potential risks that could affect a larger population. This includes a range of scenarios, from natural calamities to civil unrest.
Why most individuals don’t do urban preparation
Some individuals underestimate the threat of urban disasters due to a lack of awareness regarding the frequency of such events in the USA. Some others shy away from engaging in the necessary preparations, dismissively associating them with paranoid behaviors. Some others aren’t disciplined enough to make the necessary preparations.
Why should one invest time in planning for a seemingly “imaginary disaster” that may not even occur soon? Isn’t it more tempting to channel resources towards other things?
But urban preparedness is just as essential as securing our insurance. This is due to the very real probability of facing earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, winter storms, wildfires, power outages, civil disturbances, and other challenges in various regions across the United States.
For example, in 2021 alone, there were about 97 natural disasters: some were thunderstorms, some were wildfires, some were floods, and some were heat waves and winter storms (Korhonen, 2024b).
Many people lost their lives and millions were affected by such disasters. From 2019 onwards, we saw a pandemic as well and since the governments don’t take active steps in this field, we should be prepared on our own.
When talking about home invasion, we see that on average, over one million home burglaries happen annually while only 13% of property crimes are solved each year; being prepared for home invasion means knowing that 60% of criminals would consider another target if a security system was present (Pelchen, 2022). So we need to be prepared for crises, as the USA is not foreign to these things.
And here’s a startling fact: climate change is only making this worse. For instance, according to CoreLogic, a coastal storm will flood triple the number of homes in Florida in thirty years (Jackson, 2021).
That’s why, although urban preppers may be unjustly labeled as “paranoid,” “depressive,” or even “party-poopers,” what many fail to realize is that urban preppers emerge as invaluable resources during such trying times.
Paranoia Vs Preparedness
The purpose of being an urban preparer is to be aware of urban crises and learn how to navigate them safely. An important difference is that being prepared is not the same thing as being paranoid.
Some preppers become skeptical and paranoid of everything, which makes life very challenging for them. For instance, there was a young guy who didn’t want to travel to another country to study just because the gun laws there had some restrictions on possessing guns. And there was an elderly prepper whose diet consisted of only canned food. He only ate canned food because that’s what he would have in disaster situations, even though it was severely damaging to his health. Going to such extreme lengths is paranoia.
Urban preparation is more like taking safety measures and then leaving the rest to fate. Here’s an analogy: When we drive, we take safety measures—wearing seatbelts, not being drunk, driving safely, and following traffic rules. This is protection against potential road accidents.
Can we still have accidents?
Yes.
Should we stop going outside?
No.
Life is full of uncertainty, and we can’t let the fear override us or let it affect our daily lives. Acknowledging and being comfortable with the uncertainty is the way for a prepper to be a responsible prepper while also taking the benefits of urban life. Here are…