Reinforcing Inequalities: The Impact of the CDBG Program on Post-Katrina Rebuilding

Over the last two decades, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program has repeatedly been adapted as a vehicle to respond to federal disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and terrorist strikes. In this article, I describe the use of the CDBG program for disaster recovery, identify changes in rules governing the use of special disaster-related allocations, and explain the advantages and limitations of using the CDBG program to distribute funds to disaster-devastated areas. In particular, I analyze the operation of CDBG disaster-recovery assistance programs in Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I examine how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development–approved CDBG disaster-recovery programs in these states were designed and implemented in a class and racially discriminatory manner that violated the Fair Housing Act and the low-and-moderate-income rules of the Housing and Community Development Act. In conclusion, I critique the practice of granting waivers of CDBG rules and requirements and suggest policy recommendations to better address the needs of disaster-impacted communities in the future.