Disaster Recovery
Natural, man-made, and economic disasters are increasingly a part of our daily news and our daily experiences. From the Tsunami of 2005 to Hurricane Katrina to earthquakes and floods in Haiti and Pakistan, it is impossible to ignore that the everyday injustices that we allow in our societies have devastating impacts on those people least able to bear them. How we live in our cities, physically and socially, has a great impact on our ability to recover from disasters of all kinds.
Additional Resources
Oxfam America’s OneGulf report
Endorsed by dozens of organizations, read it here
The New Orleans Index at Five: A report from the Brookings Institution and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center
read the report here
Clear as Mud
A great new resource on the UNOP planning process in New Orleans, from authors Rob Olshansky and Laurie Johnson. Invaluable for learning about the challenges and successes of large-scale citizen-based planning. Dozens of hours of Land of Opportunity footage was used in the research for this book.
IN THE NEWS
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February 07, 2011
Disaster Recovery
2010 census reveals shifting population and demographics in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
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Take Action
Support MADRE’s work in disaster areas
In addition to affecting the poor the most, natural disasters also bear a disproportionate burden on women and children. MADRE uses a human rights framework to support women and local groups on the ground in countries affected by disaster.
Fix the Road Home Program
The New Orleans City Council unanimously adopted a resolution urging “the State of Louisiana immediately to take appropriate actions to implement the U.S. District Court ruling” issued by the honorable Judge Kennedy in August regarding the discrimination inherent to Louisiana’s Road Home Program. The program grants awards based in part on the lower of either pre-storm property value or the cost of repair. Homeowners in African American neighborhoods, where property values are lower due to decades of institutionalized housing discrimination, received less money to rebuild because of the formula. As a result, many homeowners in predominantly African American neighborhoods in NewOrleans have still not been able to complete repairs to their homes and move back into their communities. Please contact HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today, and tell him to fix the Road Home Program. You can call Sec. Donovan at 202-708-0417, or e-mail him at secretary.donovan@hud.gov