There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster

Race, Class, and Hurricane Katrina

By: Gregory Squires (Editor), Chester Hartman (Editor)

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Paperback | 21 August 2006 | Edition Number 1

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324 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.73

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i There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster /i is the first critical scholarly book on the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. The disaster will go down in record as one of the worst in American history, not least because of the government's generally inept and cavalier response. But it's also a huge story for other obvious reasons. Firstly, the impact of the hurricane was uneven, and race and class (and tied to this, poverty) were deeply implicated in the unevenness. It was not by accident that the poorest and blackest neighborhoods were the ones that were buried under water. Secondly, the response underscored the impoverishment of social policy (or what passes for it) in both George W. Bush's America and more specifically the Republican-dominated South. Thirdly, New Orleans is not just any place - it's a great American city with a rich and unique history. People care about the place and what happens there. Fourthly, what happened and what will happen there can tell us a great dealabout the state of urban and regional planning in contemporary America. br The book, edited by two eminent scholars/authors, gathers together ten excellent scholars to put forth a multifaceted portrait of the social implications of the disaster. And the disaster was primarily social in nature, as the title reminds us. The book covers the response to the disaster and the roles that race and class played, its impact on housing, the historical context of urban disasters in America, the nature of contemporary metropolitan planning, what the hurricane has taught us about planning, the role of the vast prison system in all of this, the future of economic development, the roles of business and the media, and how the hurricane disproportionately impacted female headed households. In total, it offers a critical and comprehensive social portrait of the disaster's catastrophic effects on New Orleans.

Industry Reviews

"Chester Hartman and Greg Squires should be commended for editing such a comprehensive,

elegant collection of Hurricane Katrina related essays showcasing a top-flight cast of distinguished

scholars. There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster is a giant leap forward in our collective

understanding of what went wrong in the Gulf South on August 29, 2005."

--Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans,

and the Mississippi Gulf Coast

"There is No Such Thing As a Natural Disaster: The title tells you where this book is going, and

then the book takes you there. Of all the work on Katrina and on the suffering and courage of the

people of New Orleans, this collection is by far the most informative, the most analytical, the most

radical, and the most useful. Combining detailed information from New Orleans with thoughtful and

practical analysis, Hartman and Squires have produced a casebook on structural racism and a

manifesto for radical change. A must for classroom adoption!"

--Howard Winant, author of The World is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy since World War II

"Hurricane Katrina was a social disaster, and its catastrophic impact owes as much to entrenched

inequality and political neglect as to nature's wrath. This fine collection documents the racial,

economic, and gender divisions that make extreme weather so much more dangerous than it should

be, and shows what's wrong with the current plans for rebuilding New Orleans and other devastated

cities nearby. It's a timely, engaging, and immediately useful book."

--Eric Klinenberg, author of Heatwave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago

"Taken together, these well-written essays highlight the immensity and complexity of the disaster and the challenges that lie ahead for the region. Highly recommended." -- M. Mulcahy, Loyola College in Maryland, Choice

"There is No Such Thing As a Natural Disaster takes a comprehensive and critical look at the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina." - Shelterforce

"This book covers the roles that race and class played in the response to Hurricane Katrina, the storm's impact on housing and redevelopment, the historical context of urban disasters in America, and the future of economic development in the New Orleans region. The authors assemble two dozen critical scholars and activists who present a multifaceted portrait of the implications of the disaster. The book also offers strategic guidance for key actors in efforts to rebuild shattered communities, including government agencies, financial institutions, and neighborhood organizations." - Natural Hazards Observer, July 2007

"Chester Hartman and Greg Squires should be commended for editing such a comprehensive, elegant collection of Hurricane Karina related essays showcasing a top-flight cast of distinguished scholars. There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster is a giant leap forward in our collective understanding of what went wrong in the Gulf South on August 29, 2005." - Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast

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