With Hurricane Sandy still affecting many areas of NYC, my friends at Yoxi hosted a Post-Sandy Thinkathon to generate ideas for crisis management. There were many great ideas fermenting, but one that I was thinking about which could be put to use immediately is the idea of a universal color coding system that victims of disasters can use to quickly identify and express their needs, even when power and communication lines are down.
Individuals can use any available item — a shirt, a towel, a shopping bag, a piece of paper, and hang it outside their window or on a door that anyone passing can see.
Distribution and aid centers can also use a single color to identify a central place for drop offs, pick ups, or volunteer coordination even when no one else is there to receive or distribute.
Not only is the need made visible and easy to distinguish locally, but for neighborhoods like the Rockaways, the system would make for a powerful visual that anyone can connect to — and yes, I'm talking about media attention here, something the Rockaways didn't receive until several days in. Media attention being key to getting aid quickly.
