The Hurricane Katrina Reader

APA Publications

APA's many publications have covered the hurricane disaster from a variety of planning perspectives. Click on a publication name to see the articles.

Planning magazine

Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA)

The Commissioner

PAS Memo

Planning & Environmental Law

Practicing Planner

Zoning Practice

Planning

November 2005

On the Gulf: Too Little, Too Late
A wetland buffer could have made a difference in New Orleans.

Viewpoint by David Godschalk
Acting beforehand to mitigate the impact of a natural hazard is far more effective than picking up the pieces afterwards.

December 2005

Mississippi Tackles a Tough One
Hurricane victims need shelter now — and in the future. What will happen over the long haul?

Next Steps in New Orleans
If New Orleans wants to rebuild in a coherent way, it should put its master plan front and center.

January 2006

Let the Rebuilding Begin
Before real efforts are made, New Orleans must tackle some controversial issues.

Thoughts on Recovery
As New Orleanians dodged the debris, more than 400 community leaders met to think boldly about rebuilding.

Rezoning and Replatting
Every disaster raises questions about why we build in vulnerable places, but the answer is not yes or no.

Viewpoint by Paul Farmer
Planners know that better planning could have reduced property losses and saved lives.

February 2006

Giving Shelter
Texas opens its housing to hurricane victims.

April 2006

On the Ground in New Orleans
Q&A with John Beckman, Richard Bartholomew, and Paul Rookwood of WRT

APA-sponsored follow-up Q&A with WRT, April 5, 2006

Overflow City
What do you do when a natural disaster increases your city's population by 50 percent almost overnight?

Viewpoint by Timothy Kusky
Reconstruction funds could be better used to relocate large parts of New Orleans's displaced population.

May 2006

Evacuation and Equity
A post-Katrina New Orleans diary.

August/September 2006

Curves Ahead
The path to renewal in New Orleans has taken more twists than planners had hoped.

November 2006

Viewpoint by Richard Roths
Reality check on the Gulf Coast.

Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA)

Spring 2006

Planning After Hurricane Katrina

Review Roundtable: Is New Orleans a Resilient City?

Urban Resilience and the Recovery of New Orleans

The Commissioner

Summer 2006

Lessons from a Disaster: Mandeville (Louisiana) Planning Commission & Zoning Commission
However, planning lessons can be learned — or relearned — from our experience with these storms.

PAS Memo

November/December 2005

Planners in the Gulf Coast
First person accounts of enduring Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Planning & Environmental Law

November 2005

Rebooting State Planning: Climate Change and the Energy Challenge
State governments have multiple levers of governance that are essential to climate action.

Practicing Planner

Winter 2005

Emergency Management in a Nutshell for Planners
Planners can to some degree contribute during all phases of emergency management by local governments.

Zoning Practice

March 2006

Buildout Analysis: A Valuable Planning and Hazard Mitigation Tool