Disasters
Tokyo to Include Tsunami-Hit Areas in 2020 Olympic Bid
In preparing a bid to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is planning to include areas that were ravaged by the recent tsunami and earthquake.
Daily Mail
Earthquakes Threaten Many Third-World Cities
Port-au-Prince is not an outlier. Many other major cities in developing and poor countries lie along earthquake fault lines and are in danger of destruction.
The New York Times
Group of Builders and Designers Brainstorm Haiti's Future
Every day since the earthquake that shattered Haiti earlier this month, a group of 50 planners, architects and developers have met to brainstorm and strategize the rebuilding of their country.
Los Angeles Times
The Role of Design and Architecture in Saving Haiti
This episode of DnA wonders whether design and architecture will be able to help Haiti revive itself.
KCRW
Watching Urban Change Via Satellite
Recent earthquake response efforts in Haiti showed how comparing satellite imagery could help to identify physical changes in the damaged country and assist rescue workers. That same sort of imagery could play a similar role for urban planners.
Worst-Case Tsunami Scenario Mapped
The event of a huge earthquake off the Aleutian Islands could send a devastating tsunami towards the West coast of the U.S. Researchers have released maps of what a worst-case scenario might look like for coastal communities.
San Francisco Chronicle
'Disaster City' Trains Rescuers for Real-Life Catastrophes
Disasters happen. Being prepared is almost always the ideal, but rarely the reality. A disaster training facility in Texas is trying to change that.
Popular Science
Learning from Katrina, Three Years Later
Three years later, Hurricane Katrina has had lasting effects on New Orleans. It's also taught America some lessons about how to react to natural disasters -- and how not to.
Governing
Tornado Clears Way for LEED Platinum Building
The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.
Kiowa County Singnal
Opportunities in Tornadoes
Parkersburg, IA, reeling from a recent tornado that devastated the town, could look to nearby Charles City for a silver lining.
Des Moines Register
Earthquakes, Building Codes and the Politics of Architecture
Mark Kingwell observes the sharp -- and deadly -- contrast between shining Shanghai skyscrapers and the poorly-built prefab concrete structures in China's rural areas that proved to be deathtraps in the recent earthquake.
The Globe & Mail
Did Corrupt Building Practices Contribute to China's Earthquake Disaster?
As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.
The Globe & Mail
A Sustainable City Rises From the Rubble
A year after a tornado destroyed the city of Greensburg, Kansas, the city and its residents are bounding back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.
NPR





















