Land Use Planning Across the Wildfire Disaster Cycle: A Systematic Review of Academic and Policy Classifications

Despite the growing integration of land use planning in wildfire risk reduction, limited research has systematically examined how specific strategies are classified across the phases of the disaster management cycle. This study addresses that gap by evaluating the classification of wildfire-related land use strategies across preparedness, response, mitigation, adaptation, and recovery within both academic and policy domains. This study focuses specifically on the United States context, drawing on federal and state-level policy documents and peer-reviewed academic literature from the U.S. wildfire governance landscape. Using a systematic review methodology guided by the PRISMA framework, we analyzed 92 peer-reviewed academic articles and 41 federal and state policy documents published between 2007 and 2024. Academic sources were identified through structured keyword searches in Scopus and Web of Science, while policy documents were drawn from wildfire-prone states and relevant federal agencies. Each source was coded using a standardized framework encompassing five land use strategy categories and 23 indicators. Our results reveal notable classification discrepancies. Academic literature strongly emphasizes mitigation (74%), whereas policy documents show a more balanced focus between mitigation (51.6%) and preparedness (40.5%). While strategies such as defensible space and building materials exhibit high consensus in being tied to mitigation across both domains, preventative land use management strategies, zoning regulations, and subdivision regulations vary considerably in how they are classified across phases, with chi-square tests confirming that these differences are statistically significant. Temporal analysis of phase classification reveals a post-2018 increase in preparedness-oriented classifications in policy documents, particularly for subdivision regulations, reflecting responses to major wildfire events like the Camp Fire. Recovery and adaptation assignments to land use strategies remain consistently underrepresented across all years and source types. These findings highlight persistent implementation barriers driven by classification inconsistencies and underscore the need for integrated, multi-phase frameworks that align funding criteria, planning guidance, and institutional language with the complex functions of wildfire-related land use strategies.