Long-term Disaster Recovery in Urban Communities

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This project develops and applies a framework for assessing long-term disaster recovery as it is one of the least understood aspects of disasters research. This research focuses on housing recovery and the role of insurance in managing disaster recovery by comparing and contrasting long-term disaster recovery processes in three urban locations: Passau (Germany), New Orleans (USA) and Christchurch (New Zealand) following catastrophic events in 2002, 2005, and 2011 respectively. These cities represent rather different contexts for disaster recovery, not only because they faced different natural disasters, but because the institutions and resources for recovery, planning and development, as well as the distinctive role insurance played in the aftermath of each disaster differed. In each case, answers to the following research questions are sought: what is the state of long-term recovery from natural disasters in housing and infrastructure; and what role has insurance played in the recovery process? Within disasters research, recovery after disasters is becoming more prominently a focal area of research as the geography literature on disaster management embraces a resilience approach. The damaging impacts of natural disasters are often compounded by problems and failures in managing recovery after the event when damages impact costly infrastructure and built environments of urban societies. In these circumstances, the extent and nature of property damage combines with the specific pattern of economic and institutional resources available and the disaster recovery management applied to shape the long-term recovery process. It is important to develop systematic knowledge of recovery processes in urban communities for a better understanding of what constitutes a successful recovery, how long-term recovery functions, and how best to mitigate future disaster impacts. This project seeks these answers in order to address gaps in knowledge and understanding of urban recovery and to contribute to understanding of best practices in long-term disaster recovery.