Survival in an urban / suburban after a major impact disaster is going to be a community effort. Along these lines you might want to look into joining your local volunteer fire / ambulance / sherrif / SAR / CERT / HAM-ARES / CB association. Any of these options will also provide you with invaluable training in one or more surival areas. My prefrence after 9/11/02 was to get my Amateur radio lisence (HAM) and then my EMT-B training and registration. I am now active in the ARES and the ambulance service in town. So during a wide-spread emergency I will be running trauma duty followed by comms for the local shelter. This assures me a place in the recovery effort and therefore some priority call on the recovery supplies.

OTOH, Survival in a rural area after a stranding type incident (downed plane, lost during a hike, walking home after escaping the rioting hords etc) will be a fairly solitary event with the skills resembling primitive backpacking. The understanding and gear learned becomming a HAM / EMT will serve you well in this environment as well if you manage to be able to survive long enough to use them. In this type of incident (the original focus of this group) you must be prepared and equipped with whatever is in your pockets when you find yourself suddenly on your own. Hence the prevalent focus on assembling a selection of gear for EDC (Every Day Carry) such as a PSK (Personal - Pocket Survival Kit) and a FAK (First Aid Kit). A quick search of Doug's kits from the front page followed by a search of this forum on any or all of the above TLA's (Three Letter Acronym) will provide a wealth of information about what gear you might want to carry.

If you assemble a PSK, FAK, and a few other EDC items that you think would provide for the ability to establish the three primaries - WDF (Warm Dry Fed) you should then spend many hours / days / weeks exercising that belief. Take yourself out of work on a Friday with only your EDC and try to walk home. Then in the rain. Then in the Snow. Then out in the woods. Then for a week in the woods. If you can surive a week in the woods with only your EDC and not freeze, break any bones, die of dehydration etc then you probably have the correct set of EDC by the standards of many on this board.

BTW, By the above test, how many here are really prepared? How many have carried out this test? - Not I. Guess I should try.

When it comes to self sufficient dwellings there is a wealth of information at RMSG.org Rocky mountain survival group. Everything from solar and wind to growing grain and herbal remedies and alternative architecture and hydro-power. A book you might find interesting on this topic is "five acres to freedom" about homesteading.