disaster recovery
After Disaster, Planning Provides Road to Recovery for Lac-Mégantic
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec was the site of a train derailment that cost dozens of lives and destroyed 10 blocks of its downtown. Now residents and town leaders are working to heal from that tragic event with plans for the future.
White House Issues Recommendations for Responding to Extreme Weather
A task force created by the White House in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy has published its 69-point strategy for communities to better withstand and recover from extreme weather events.
Lessons for Building a Better City After a Devastating Disaster
With climate change producing more extreme weather, the likelihood of a natural disaster impacting the world's cities is on the rise. New members of the 'disaster club' can look to these three places for lessons for turning tragedy into opportunity.
Bloomberg Unveils Post-Sandy Rebuilding Program
This week, Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of NYC's comprehensive effort to assist homeowners effected by Superstorm Sandy. The NYC Build It Back program will offer avenues for homeowners to restore, rebuild, relocate, or get reimbursed.
Rush to Rebuild Could Cause Long-Term Damage to NY/NJ Beaches
Just seven months ago Hurricane Sandy damaged 94 percent of New Jersey's beaches and eroded dozens of miles of coastline in New York. As waterfront communities rush to rebuild before summer, some fear disastrous long-term consequences.
Op-Ed: Invest in Natural-Hazard Mitigation to Save Billions in Disaster Recovery
With the costs of rebuilding after natural disaster in the U.S. escalating (now estimated at $50 billion a year), David R. Conrad and Edward A. Thomas argue that scant resources can be better spent on mitigation rather than rebuilding in place.
Poor Renters, not Middle Class Homeowners, Were Hardest Hit by Sandy
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the news media were fixated on the plight of middle-class homeowners in places like the Rockaways in Queens. But two new reports show that low-income renters were the more prevalent victims of the storm.
Should Architects Be Allowed to Assist in Disaster Recovery?
After Hurricane Sandy, hundreds of architects and engineers offered their services to assist an overwhelmed NYC Department of Buildings in assessing storm-damaged properties. So why were they turned away?
International Aid Lands in the U.S.
Millions of dollars donated by the United Arab Emirates are being used to fund the rebuilding of Joplin, Mo., which was devastated by a tornado in 2011. The handouts represent a "remarkable shift in global economic power."
Bracing for Sandy's Second Impact
First came the floods from torrential rains and record storm surges. Now, long after the flood waters have receded, localities across the New York region are bracing for receding finances from declining property tax revenues.
In Japanese Tsunami Zone, a Plan to Elevate Cities
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports on plans to elevate the ground level in urban areas that were inundated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, prior to rebuilding. One town will elevate its land by 17 meters (55 feet).
How New York Failed Its Neediest After Sandy
In an expose that many have been clamoring for since the days immediately following Sandy when stories of people stranded in NYC's public housing came to light, the Times explores how NYCHA and the city were unprepared for the storm's aftermath.
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.
MTA Disaster Aid Request: Appropriate or Overreach?
This week, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority made public its request for $5 billion in federal aid to rebuild what was damaged during Superstorm Sandy. But a look at the details reveals an ambitious agenda for improvements.
Should Taxpayers Fund the Rebuilding of Coastal Communities?
In the "Room for Debate" section of The New York Times, five experts debate whether the federal government should continue to subsidize the cost of coastal reconstruction in the aftermath of storms.
After Sandy, NYC Will Undertake Unprecedented Reshaping of Neighborhoods
Over the weekend it was announced that New York City will need to demolish hundreds of homes damaged during Superstorm Sandy. The complicated process for determining what will be rebuilt has yet to begin.

Occupy Sandy: A New Model for Disaster Response?
One of the odd twists of the Sandy aftermath is the repurposing of the Occupy Wall Street apparatus as one of the most effective aid groups operating in New York. Could their work serve as a model for locally-based disaster recovery?
NYC's Subways Are Up and Running Again - How'd They Do It?
It's taken a Herculean effort to get New York's subway system up and running again after Sandy; but it's one that's progressed far below the streets of the city and out of view of most. Morgan Clendaniel examines what MTA employees have been up to.
What Can Sandy Learn from Katrina about Housing?
As the Sandy clean-up gets underway, could this be an opportunity for the Eastern Seaboard to apply some of the rebuilding lessons learned along the Gulf Coast after Katrina? Ben Brown shares some pointers.
In Lower East Side, Cell Phones and Social Media More Helpful than FEMA or Red Cross
In blacked-out Manhattan, recovery is slow, if not entirely absent. To help fill the void left by public agencies, a self-organized recovery effort is trying to help those left behind, with the assistance of technology.
Pagination
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
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service