Destruction and Renewal in Japan

With the first anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami approaching this weekend, The Washington Post and The New York Times have published stunning interactive photo essays allowing readers to compare images of destruction in various Japanese cities and villages with photos of those same places, one year later. The extent of the clean-up effort is heartening to see, but the challenges of rebuilding are daunting.

See a recent article by Warren Karlenzig posted on Planetizen, for an idea of what direction the rebuilding is likely to take.