Experience from the United States: Post-Katrina and Sandy, Land Use Management in Disaster Risk Reduction

Abstract

Land use management in the United States is decided at the local level and not directly controlled by disaster recovery plans and policies. However, disaster mitigation and recovery policies and initiatives are closely connected to and influence land use patterns. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, recovery policies and programs had direct and varied impacts on land use in the affected areas, where, as part of recovery programs after both disasters, government buyouts have been used to purchase houses and property. In terms of implications for land use, the main difference between buyouts after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy is if programs targeted damaged houses individually or by area. As damaged houses and lots were acquired individually in New Orleans after Katrina, vacant lots were left scattered throughout the city. To avoid similar outcomes after Sandy, New York City focused on property acquisition for redevelopment, and New York State's buyout programs also targeted clusters of damaged houses and properties in coastal areas. After Sandy, new initiatives to address land use issues and resilience were also introduced through the Rebuild by Design (RbD) program, which began as an unprecedented design competition to consider resilience issues at a regional scale and was funded through a combination of public and private support. In addition to the geographical, political, and development contexts, the timing of Sandy recovery coincides with an ongoing processes of flood map updates and flood insurance reforms, which are closely linked to housing recovery as well as existing and evolving patterns of land use in affected areas.