This volume examines the rebuilding of cities and their environs after a disaster and focuses on four major issues: making cities less vulnerable to disaster, reestablishing economic viability, responding to the permanent needs of the displaced, and recreating a sense of place.

Foreword
—Amy Gutmann
Introduction
—Eugenie L. Birch and Susan M. Wachter
I. MAKING PLACES LESS VULNERABLE
1. Physical Constraints on Reconstructing New Orleans
—Robert Giegengack and Kenneth R. Foster
2. Negotiating a Fluid Terrain
—Anuradha Mathur and Dilip da Cunha
3. The Problems of Containment and the Promise of Planning
—Raymond J. Burby, Arthur C. Nelson, and Thomas W. Sanchez
4. Mapping for Sustainable Resilience
—Frederick Steiner, Barbara Faga, James Sipes, and Robert Yaro
5. Natural Hazards Science—A Matter of Public Safety
—P. Patrick Leahy
II. RETURNING URBAN PLACES TO ECONOMIC VIABILITY
6. Measuring Katrina's Impact on the Gulf Megapolitan Area
—Robert E. Lang
7. Restarting the Economy
—Mark Zandi, Steven Cochrane, Fillip Ksiazkiewicz, and Ryan Sweet
8. Rebuilding Transportation
—Rachel Weinberger
9. Learning from Past Disasters
—Eugenie L. Birch
10. Restoring Urban Viability
—Lawrence J. Vale
11. Housing Displaced Families
—Jeffrey Lubell
12. Assessing The University's Role
—Lester A. Lefton and Yvette Jones
III. RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF THE DISPLACED: ISSUES OF CLASS, RACE, AND RECOVERY
13. Inadequate Reponses, Limited Expectations
—Elijah Anderson
14. Educational Equity in Postdisaster New Orleans
—Vivian L. Gadsden
15. The Lost and Forgotten
—Richard J. Gelles
16. Temporary Housing Blues
—Gary Hack
17. Lessons from Sri Lanka
—Thomas L. Daniels and Harris Steinberg
V. RECREATING A SENSE OF PLACE
18. Promoting Cultural Preservation
—Randall Mason
19. Understanding New Orleans's Architectural Ecology
—Dell Upton
20. Reconstructing New Orleans: A Progress Report
—Jonathan Barnett and John Beckman
21. Rebuilding the "Land of Dreams" with Music
—Nick Spitzer
22. Walking to Wal-Mart: Planning for Mississippi and Beyond
—Sandy Sorlien and Leland R. Speed
Afterword
—Ronald J. Daniels

Eugenie L. Birch is Professor and Chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Susan M. Wachter is the Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance, The Wharton School; Professor of City and Regional Planning, School of Design; and Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research, at the University of Pennsylvania.