The Political Economy of Urban Disaster Assistance

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, policy makers are once again debating the manner in which we prepare for, respond to, and recover from extreme events in the United States. While much is known about how to make urban regions safer, political and economic calculations often overwhelm these considerations. The mix of competing priorities and incentives of federal, state, and local officials conspire to make urban hazard planning difficult if not impossible. The considerable challenge facing those charged with making cities less vulnerable is to strike an appropriate balance between these political and economic dynamics, and the creation of more disaster-resilient communities.