ABSTRACT
Disasters frequently change the physical landscape of communities in fundamental ways. While the tragic loss of life profoundly affects communities, one of the deepest scars that disasters leave is the destruction of neighborhoods: thousands of homes splintered by tidal surge or fierce winds, or long strings of city blocks festering in floodwaters. A major disaster’s damage is typically overwhelming: tens of thousands of damaged rental and homeowner housing units, millions of square feet of unsafe office and retail space, shuttered health clinics, and wrecked community centers.
