Rebuilding

Nighttime view of wildfire in Los Angeles hills.

'Place Shock' and the Ecology of Fear

How to conceive of rebuilding places amid sudden change in a region known for its “ecology of fear?” As the city embarks on the arduous task of rebuilding, the question arises: how do we reconcile the imperatives of safety and sustainability with the deeply ingrained human desire for continuity, for a sense of rootedness in the familiar?

January 15, 2025 - Resurgence: A Journey via Substack

Butte County, California

California Town Looks to Rebuild After Wildfire, but No Clear Path Forward

Paradise, California, burned to the ground last year, and the town’s recovery has begun. But questions remain about the measures that should be put into place to prevent another disaster.

November 15, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

California Wildfire

The Post-Wildfire Dilemma: Rebuild or Retreat?

Even after experiencing devastating wildfires, residents are often willing to take the risk to return and start over.

July 23, 2019 - MIT Technology Review

Erskine Fire

In California, Policies Spur Rebuilding in the Wildland-Urban Interface

After the worst wildfire season ever, changes to local land use and state insurance rules essentially ensure that the same thing will happen again.

March 9, 2018 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Wine Country Fires

Wildfire Destroys Santa Rosa Neighborhood Outside of Fire Hazard Zone

The Wine Country wildfires destroyed Coffey Park, a subdivision within the urban boundaries of the Bay Area's fifth largest city, and outside of the state's severe fire hazard zones. But the cause wasn't a mystery to wildland fire scientists.

October 20, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Houston Bayou

Rebuilding Houston After Harvey: 'Bigger and Better'

Those were the words President Trump expressed before his first trip to Texas while Hurricane Harvey was ravaging Houston. But experts worry that the rebuilding won't be better due to the recision of an Obama-era environmental regulation.

September 2, 2017 - NPR

Emotion Supersedes Planning in Rush to Rebuild Jersey Shore

Residents of New Jersey, and particularly its coastal communities, have an emotional connection to the state's seaside towns. But in the rush to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, Scott Gurian asks if emotion is getting in the way of good planning.

July 25, 2013 - NJ Spotlight

NYC Relaxes Zoning to Ease Rebuilding

Three months after Sandy struck New York, the city took an important step in the recovery process by waiving select zoning rules rules to speed rebuilding, reports Matt Chaban.

February 4, 2013 - Crain's New York Business

Bloomberg Backs Beachfront Rebuild

In a speech Thursday, Mayor Bloomberg laid out his strategy for rebuilding a stronger, smarter New York in anticipation of future natural disasters.

December 7, 2012 - The New York Times

Sandy Provides Opportunity for NYC to Lead on Climate Adaptation

As an increasing percentage of the world's population, and economic assets, confront the threats of climate change, the aftermath of Sandy provides an opportunity for New York to set a global example for building stronger, smarter cities.

November 7, 2012 - New York Daily News

Should the Jersey Shore Rebuild?

For anyone that's seen the shocking images of boardwalks ripped to shreds and homes and roller coasters now sitting in the ocean, its clear the Jersey Shore bore the brunt of Sandy. The debate has already begun as to whether the area should rebuild.

November 2, 2012 - Salon

Uneven Haitian Rebuild Leaves Many Behind

Despite billions of dollars in reconstruction aid, with no overarching housing policy, Haiti's recovery from a devastating earthquake in 2010 has become a protracted humanitarian crisis, especially for hundreds of thousands remaining in tent cities.

August 20, 2012 - The New York Times

Generational Divide Opens Gap in Post-Tsunami Planning

The Economist looks at the generational gap that is hampering efforts to rebuild tsunami-stricken communities in Japan, as the elderly favor restoring what was lost as soon as possible, and the young seek sustainable revitalization.

August 6, 2012 - The Economist

Roadblocks Along the Road to Recovery in Japan

Christopher Hawthorne reports from Japan on the many obstacles preventing areas destroyed by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami from proceeding with rebuilding, as the recovery effort stalls in the cleanup stage.

March 9, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

For a Japanese Island, Reconstruction Kills Revival

Since the Japanese government spent $300 billion rebuilding Okushiri after a 1993 tsunami, things have taken a grim, ironic turn: with high-paying construction jobs leaving, so are young people who no longer wish to be part of a fishing economy.

January 11, 2012 - The New York Times

Plan for Haiti Unveiled

Trans_City Architecture and Urbanism have unveiled a comprehensive plan for Jacmel, Haiti. Highlights of the plan, which took a year and a half to draw up, include prefab homes that work around the city's "topographical challenges."

September 21, 2011 - International Business Times

Local Rebuilding Efforts Underpin New Orleans' Recovery

The recovery of New Orleans is happening in many small ways. One of them is the work of community groups to rebuild and re-inhabit damaged homes.

May 15, 2011 - NRDC Switchboard

Rebuilding a New Vision in New Orleans

Recovery in New Orleans doesn't just mean rebuilding the city as it was before Hurricane Katrina. Some see the process as creating an entirely new city.

September 1, 2009 - The New York Times

Community Rebuilding in New Orleans

Rebuilding is underway in New Orleans. But not with huge conglomerates running the show. Most of the work is being done by non-profits, startups and other community-based organizations.

July 28, 2009 - WorldChanging

Building History Anew In Old Town Warsaw

WARSAW, Poland --I'm on my fourth city in a two-month excursion, and so far I've found all the quaintness, density, pedestrian life, and vernacular architecture that I was looking for as an antitode to my beloved, loathed Los Angeles. The cores of Riga and Vilnius come right out of proverbial fairy tales, and even Helsinki, though historically torn between Sweden and Russia, has plenty of the best trappings of Boston and San Francisco (as well as some of the worst of Atlanta or Dallas; more on that later). Then there's Warsaw.

June 8, 2007 - Josh Stephens

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

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