Tag Archives | sandy

How Would the Dutch Fix Our Flood Problems?

. . . not surprisingly, with less focus on recovery and more on preparation. The Dutch “way of thinking is completely different from the U.S.,” where disaster relief generally takes precedence over disaster avoidance, said Wim Kuijken, the Dutch government’s senior official for overall water control policy. “The U.S. is excellent at disaster management,” but […]

Send the Planners to Jail for Allowing Sandy

Ed Blakely says planers should be sent to jail for allowing development in areas we all know are at great risk: I advance this argument to get the attention of our planning profession, which has been complacent and diffident when we know better. We blame our political masters. But an engineer who knowingly gives bad […]

Would You Buy on the Waterfront?

The New York Times takes a look. Their conclusion? “Although real estate experts say property values are unlikely to suffer in the long term, it is possible that new zoning and planning regulations — and buyers’ expectations — could reshape how residential housing along the water is built, marketed and sold.” If by “property values” […]

New York Struggles to Recover Housing

“We had prepared for an emergency. The emergency we had prepared for was an act of terrorism, not this.” Water is incredibly destructive. “Future Is in Limbo for the Damaged Buildings Close to the Water’s Edge“

Insurers Rethink Business After Sandy

How does climate change play into their thinking? Of course, there is no evidence climate change caused Hurricane Sandy. But that won’t calm the insurance industry. As once executive explained , it doesn’t matter whether insurers believe in man-made climate change. The number of weather-related events nearly quintupled in North America over the past three […]

Hurricane Sandy Update

Like everybody else, I’m watching the Sesame Street hurricane show with Al Roker, and watching Twitter chatter on Hurricane Sandy (which includes a number of obviously bogus (but entertaining photos). Will be posting the best I can find over on our twitter feed. See you there. And best of luck to the East Coast.