Blueprint for Disaster

Blueprint for Disaster PDF Author: D. Bradford Hunt
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226360873
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Now considered a dysfunctional mess, Chicago’s public housing projects once had long waiting lists of would-be residents hoping to leave the slums behind. So what went wrong? To answer this complicated question, D. Bradford Hunt traces public housing’s history in Chicago from its New Deal roots through current mayor Richard M. Daley’s Plan for Transformation. In the process, he chronicles the Chicago Housing Authority’s own transformation from the city’s most progressive government agency to its largest slumlord. Challenging explanations that attribute the projects’ decline primarily to racial discrimination and real estate interests, Hunt argues that well-intentioned but misguided policy decisions—ranging from design choices to maintenance contracts—also paved the road to failure. Moreover, administrators who fully understood the potential drawbacks did not try to halt such deeply flawed projects as Cabrini-Green and the Robert Taylor Homes. These massive high-rise complexes housed unprecedented numbers of children but relatively few adults, engendering disorder that pushed out the working class and, consequently, the rents needed to maintain the buildings. The resulting combination of fiscal crisis, managerial incompetence, and social unrest plunged the CHA into a quagmire from which it is still struggling to emerge. Blueprint for Disaster, then,is an urgent reminder of the havoc poorly conceived policy can wreak on our most vulnerable citizens.

Blueprint for Disaster

Blueprint for Disaster PDF Author: D. Bradford Hunt
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226360873
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Now considered a dysfunctional mess, Chicago’s public housing projects once had long waiting lists of would-be residents hoping to leave the slums behind. So what went wrong? To answer this complicated question, D. Bradford Hunt traces public housing’s history in Chicago from its New Deal roots through current mayor Richard M. Daley’s Plan for Transformation. In the process, he chronicles the Chicago Housing Authority’s own transformation from the city’s most progressive government agency to its largest slumlord. Challenging explanations that attribute the projects’ decline primarily to racial discrimination and real estate interests, Hunt argues that well-intentioned but misguided policy decisions—ranging from design choices to maintenance contracts—also paved the road to failure. Moreover, administrators who fully understood the potential drawbacks did not try to halt such deeply flawed projects as Cabrini-Green and the Robert Taylor Homes. These massive high-rise complexes housed unprecedented numbers of children but relatively few adults, engendering disorder that pushed out the working class and, consequently, the rents needed to maintain the buildings. The resulting combination of fiscal crisis, managerial incompetence, and social unrest plunged the CHA into a quagmire from which it is still struggling to emerge. Blueprint for Disaster, then,is an urgent reminder of the havoc poorly conceived policy can wreak on our most vulnerable citizens.

Disaster Hits Home

Disaster Hits Home PDF Author: Mary C. Comerio
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 052091872X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Whenever a major earthquake strikes or a hurricane unleashes its fury, the devastating results fill our television screens and newspapers. Mary C. Comerio is interested in what happens in the weeks and months after such disasters, particularly in the recovery of damaged housing. Through case studies of six recent urban disasters—Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina, Hurricane Andrew in Florida, the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes in California, as well as earthquakes in Mexico City and Kobe, Japan—Comerio demonstrates that several fundamental factors have changed in contemporary urban disasters. The foremost change is in scale, and as more Americans move to the two coasts, future losses will continue to be formidable because of increased development in these high-hazard areas. Moreover, the visibility of disasters in the news media will assure that response efforts remain highly politicized. And finally, the federal government is now expected to be on the scene with personnel, programs, and financial assistance even as private insurance companies are withdrawing disaster coverage from homeowners in earthquake- and hurricane-prone regions. Demonstrating ways that existing recovery systems are inadequate, Comerio proposes a rethinking of what recovery means, a comprehensive revision of the government's role, and more equitable programs for construction financing. She offers new criteria for a housing recovery policy as well as real financial incentives for preparedness, for limiting damage before disasters occur, and for providing a climate where private insurance can work. Her careful analysis makes this book important reading for policymakers, property owners, and anyone involved in disaster mitigation.

FEMA Disaster Housing

FEMA Disaster Housing PDF Author: Francis X. McCarthy
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437940498
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. For over three decades FEMA has provided temporary housing assistance to eligible victims of natural disasters. FEMA has responded to more than a thousand disaster and emergency events over this period. The cycle of help from sheltering provided by local org. in the immediate aftermath, to the eventual repair and rebuilding or replacement of private homes and rental units, is the focus of this report. Contents: Intro.; Post-Disaster Housing; Sheltering and Housing; Congressional Issues: A National Disaster Housing Strategy: Descriptions and Directions; Recent Housing Developments; Alternative Housing Pilot Program ¿ Katrina Cottages; Individuals and Households Pilot Program; FEMA-HUD Relationship; Special Needs. Illustrations.

Disaster Housing

Disaster Housing PDF Author: Matthew J. Scire
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 143792350X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description
Concerns over FEMA¿s provision of temporary housing assistance, including travel trailers at group sites, after the 2005 hurricanes led to the development of the National Disaster Housing Strategy. This report assesses: (1) the challenges households faced in transitioning to permanent housing; (2) the extent to which FEMA measured its performance in closing and transitioning households in group sites; (3) the strategy's effectiveness in defining FEMA's roles and responsibilities for closing and transitioning households in group sites; and (4) the alternatives to travel trailers in group sites and how well the strategy assessed them. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.

Disaster Assistance

Disaster Assistance PDF Author: David G. Wood
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9781422315323
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina & Rita destroyed thousands of homes & displaced over 1 million people. In light of widespread congressional & public interest in U.S. agencies¿ performance in assisting hurricane victims, the author examined fed. housing assistance. Specifically, this report examines: (1) the extent to which the Nat. Response Plan (NRP) clearly described the responsibilities & capabilities of fed. agencies & the Red Cross; (2) the extent to which these org. had plans for providing sheltering & housing assistance; & (3) the perceptions of victims & others regarding the assistance needed & provided. Includes recommendations. Charts & tables.

Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters

Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309316227
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 535

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Book Description
In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.

Architects and Post-Disaster Housing

Architects and Post-Disaster Housing PDF Author: Gertrud Tauber
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3839428629
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
This book examines the different roles of architects in rural post-disaster housing and their impact on the degree of success of the projects from villagers' perspective. It is based around the building process of three case studies affected by the tsunami of 2004 in rural South India. It identifies the critical parameters and skills required at project level during the course of the building process. The results from villages and interviews with experienced international and Indian architects, engineers and NGO representatives show that architects are often poorly equipped to work in this context. Gertrud Tauber concludes with a proposal for a course to help architects in the building of people-oriented housing in post-disaster environments.

Cost Effective Housing Systems for Disaster Relief: Federal experience with disaster housing assistance

Cost Effective Housing Systems for Disaster Relief: Federal experience with disaster housing assistance PDF Author: Abeles Schwartz Associates
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Disaster relief
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description


Site Selection and Design for Disaster Housing Group Sites

Site Selection and Design for Disaster Housing Group Sites PDF Author: Abeles, Schwartz and Associates
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Disaster relief
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description


Developing Disaster Resilient Housing in Vietnam: Challenges and Solutions

Developing Disaster Resilient Housing in Vietnam: Challenges and Solutions PDF Author: Tuan Anh Tran
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319267434
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive understanding on disaster resilient housing within the Vietnam context particularly and the developing world generally. The book has identified the root causes of housing vulnerability, restrictions to safe housing development, concepts of disaster resilient housing, key issues/factors implementers and building designers need to consider, and ways of achieving resilient housing outcomes in actual design projects. The design and development of disaster resilient housing has been framed into three main themes: (i) community consultation, (ii) the role of built-environment professionals and (iii) design responses for resilience. To achieve these themes, there is a variety of contextual and intervening conditions that need to be addressed and met to provide an enabling environment for promoting disaster resilient housing. These three themes are among the most arguable issues in recent debates and discussions, academically and practically, regarding disaster risk reduction and safe housing development. In addition, this book also provides the evidence-based design framework for disaster resilient housing upon which design ideas and solutions for safe and resilient housing can be generated and shaped.