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 Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane KatrinaStruggles to Reclaim, Rebuild, and Revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coastby Robert Bullard, Beverly Wright Feb 9, 2009
DescriptionOn August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans leaving death and destruction across the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coast counties. The lethargic and inept emergency response that followed exposed institutional flaws, poor planning, and false assumptions that are built into the emergency response and homeland security plans and programs. Questions linger: What went wrong? Can it happen again? Is our government equipped to plan for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade disasters? Can the public trust government response to be fair? Does race matter? Racial disparities exist in disaster response, cleanup, rebuilding, reconstruction, and recovery. Race plays out in natural disaster survivors’ ability to rebuild, replace infrastructure, obtain loans, and locate temporary and permanent housing. Generally, low-income and people of color disaster victims spend more time in temporary housing, shelters, trailers, mobile homes, and hotels-and are more vulnerable to permanent displacement. Some “temporary” homes have not proved to be that temporary. In exploring the geography of vulnerability, this book asks why some communities get left behind economically, spatially, and physically before and after disasters strike. Reviews“There have been many books written about Hurricane Katrina but none has the range and power of Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina. Bullard, Wright, and the contributors cover all the issues: the pre-existing social and environmental injustices, the lack of preparation for disaster, and the skewed political and economic structure that made sure that Katrina’s wrath would be felt most sharply in low-income communities of color. But most significantly, they offer one of the most detailed, analytical, and rigorous looks at the aftermath: the toxic soup left behind, the economic, physical and social challenges of rebuilding, and the shifting demographics and politics of New Orleans. This is a must-read for anyone concerned with the devastating effects Katrina had on Louisiana and the nation, and a worthy anchor text for courses on environmental justice, social inequality, and the American future.”
“Race, Place, and Environmental Justice reveals how the political disasters confronting New Orleans before Katrina and in the rebuilding process afterwards wreaked far more damage on the city than the storm itself, a context that unfortunately prevails in virtually every major US city.”
“The natural disaster of Katrina played out across a social landscape of racial injustice and savage inequality. Bullard and Wright have assembled a fascinating set of pioneering works on the antecedents, the storm, and the aftermath, providing key lessons for rebuilding New Orleans and our broader society. A major contribution to our understanding of who suffers from so- called natural disasters and how to recover.”
“Anyone seriously studying Katrina's impact must read Professors Bullard and Wright. This book is a gem.”
“This heavily researched and annotated collection of essays on the ‘geography of vulnerability’ as found in the aftermath of Katrina is an overwhelming analysis of a microcosm of American society. Written by experts in environmental justice, land-use policy, and political science, it addresses everything from transportation infrastructure to social inequality and urban development. ... With solid, fact-based conclusions, responsible recommendations, and chapters on rebuilding efforts, this title should serve as a textbook for today’s urban planners.”
"Bullard and Wright’s set of essays begins to make sense of the government policies that allowed New Orleans to flood, as well as post-Katrina efforts to rebuild the city and region. This collection is a reminder that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done. ... Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina isn’t exactly an easy or light-hearted read, but it is full of important information that will be of particular interest to people interested in the theoretical importance of the concept of place, as well as anyone interested in better understanding environmental justice and racial disparities." "This groundbreaking volume seamlessly integrates disaster research and the study of environmental justice. ... One of the most comprehensive portraits of Katrina available to date. ... The policy recommendations offer a starting point for classroom discussion and debate and could easily be used to create in-class exercises and other activities designed to promote critical thinking skills. ... Because this book is written by an interdisciplinary group of scholars, the text would work well in an array of different upper-division undergraduate or graduate level classes, including general race and ethnic relations, sociology of disaster, environmental justice, emergency management, urban planning, and public health courses. ... A valuable teaching tool in sociology and other disciplines." Selling TerritoryWorld |
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