Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and Policy
- The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and Policy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword: Current Trends in Disaster Law and Policy
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Critical Perspectives on the Evolution of Disaster Law and Policy
- 1 Catastrophe Is Not the End but the Beginning: Two Centuries of Evolution in US Disaster Law and Policy
- 2 The Flood: Political Economy and Disaster
- Part II Effective Governance as an Imperative for Responsive Disaster Law and Policy
- Part III Law’s Role in Promoting Hazard Mitigation: Intergovernmental, International, National, and Local Approaches
- Part IV Private Sector Initiatives to Promote Disaster Resilience and Recovery
- Part V Lawyers As Disaster Law and Policy Leaders: Training for Students and Guidance for Practitioners
- Part VI Cultural Heritage Protection and Cross-Disciplinary Opportunities for Advancing Disaster Law and Policy
- Part VII Disasters and Vulnerable Communities
1 - Catastrophe Is Not the End but the Beginning: Two Centuries of Evolution in US Disaster Law and Policy
from Part I - Critical Perspectives on the Evolution of Disaster Law and Policy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 October 2022
- The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and Policy
- The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and Policy
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword: Current Trends in Disaster Law and Policy
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Critical Perspectives on the Evolution of Disaster Law and Policy
- 1 Catastrophe Is Not the End but the Beginning: Two Centuries of Evolution in US Disaster Law and Policy
- 2 The Flood: Political Economy and Disaster
- Part II Effective Governance as an Imperative for Responsive Disaster Law and Policy
- Part III Law’s Role in Promoting Hazard Mitigation: Intergovernmental, International, National, and Local Approaches
- Part IV Private Sector Initiatives to Promote Disaster Resilience and Recovery
- Part V Lawyers As Disaster Law and Policy Leaders: Training for Students and Guidance for Practitioners
- Part VI Cultural Heritage Protection and Cross-Disciplinary Opportunities for Advancing Disaster Law and Policy
- Part VII Disasters and Vulnerable Communities
Summary
This chapter traces the evolution of federal disaster law and policy in the United States from the nation’s founding to the present. While many excellent histories of related topics already exist, this chapter will focus on three key aspects of this evolution. First, the chapter illustrates how the current federal policy structure is less a comprehensive system than an ad hoc agglomeration of policies and programs built on disparate experiences including natural disasters, wartime preparation, economic crises, and others. Second, the chapter explores the outsize role that political considerations, as opposed to best practices drawn from recovery management experiences, have played in shaping current federal disaster response and recovery approaches. Finally, recent events, including Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Maria, are explored to illustrate the tradeoffs inherent in the United States’ federated system of disaster response.
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Disaster Law and PolicyRisk, Recovery, and Redevelopment, pp. 25 - 47Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022