by admin | Oct 1, 2017 | Activism, Civil rights, Crime, History, Public safety, Racism
Few people live for the excitement of radical demonstrations. Most of us want to enjoy life and, if we can, contribute something positive to society along the way. Thus, it is small surprise that, when hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, and white...
by admin | Sep 12, 2017 | Blogging, Business, Disaster, Natural Hazards, Public safety, Urban Planning, Water
Life can produce very sudden turns of events. The turmoil and destruction dished out by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma may have been predictable in the abstract, that is, events that could occur at some point someday, but that means little when the day arrives that a...
by admin | Sep 5, 2017 | Activism, Climate, Disaster, Disaster policy, Floodplain management, Floodplain management, Government, Infrastructure, Natural Hazards, Public policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
Justifiably, people and the news media have celebrated the heroes of emergency response in Texas during the week-long nightmare of Hurricane Harvey. Disasters often bring out the best in many people, a selfless commitment that inspires those capable to rescue...
by admin | Aug 30, 2017 | Climate, Disaster, Disaster policy, Government, Infrastructure, Natural Hazards, Political philosophy, Public health, Public policy, Public safety, Resilience, Social Science, Urban Planning
A few days ago, in my last post, I wrote that Hurricane Harvey would last a few days, but the recovery would last years. However agonizingly long Harvey appears to be taking to inflict its misery on the Texas Gulf Coast, and now parts of southern Louisiana, it will go...
by admin | Aug 28, 2017 | Climate, Disaster, Natural Hazards, Public safety, Urban Planning, Water
For the people of the Texas Gulf Coast, the rain and winds of Hurricane Harvey are just the beginning of a long journey. The storm will last a few days. The recovery will last years. I am not there, so I can only surmise, based on the news coverage I have seen, the...
by admin | Jun 25, 2017 | Books, Disaster, Disaster policy, Natural Hazards, Public policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
As an urban planner, my entry into the world of disasters has been through the twin portals of public policy and planning practice—how we frame the priorities of government and how we carry out the tasks of community planning. One thing I have learned from years of...
