The "Katrina Effect": On the Nature of Catastrophe

Research output: Book/ReportEdited book/Anthologypeer-review

Abstract

On August 29th 2005, the headwaters of Hurricane Katrina's storm-surge arrived at New Orleans, the levees broke and the city was inundated. Perhaps no other disaster of the 21st century has so captured the global media's attention and featured in the 'imagination of disaster' like Katrina. The Katrina Effect charts important ethical territory that underscores thinking about disaster and the built environment globally. The collection of critical essays by scholars from across the humanities assesses the storm's global impact on overlapping urban, social and political imaginaries. Given the coincidence and 'perfect storm' of environmental, geo-political and economic challenges facing liberal democratic societies, communities will come under increasing strain to preserve and restore social fabric while affording all citizens equal opportunity in determining the forms that future cities and communities will take. Today, 21st century economic neo-liberalism, global warming or recent theories of 'urban vulnerability' and resilience provide key new contexts for understanding the meaning and legacy of Katrina.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherBloomsbury
Number of pages356
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-47259-518-8
ISBN (Print)978-1-47259-516-4 HB , 978-1-47259-517-1 PB
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The "Katrina Effect": On the Nature of Catastrophe'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this