Investigating Recovery Patterns in Post Disaster Urban Settings: Utilizing Geospatial Technology to Understand Post-Hurricane Katrina Recovery in New Orleans, Louisiana

This chapter seeks to improve upon current disaster research in the discipline of geography by expanding the geographic study of hazards beyond the event and into the recovery process. A review of current disaster based literature in geography illustrates a lack of comprehensive research by geographers in the arena of disaster recovery. It appears as if established researchers in this field are content to focus their efforts on the issues preceding disasters, as well as the immediate response to, and physical results of disaster events. The responsibility of understanding the topic of reco very has thus far been the primary focus of researchers in the fields of social science and public administration. This study will utilize Geographic Information Technology (GIT) to assess the level of recovery, determine the most appropriate scale to study the spatial aspects of recovery, and identify spatial indicators of recovery in New Orleans, Louisiana as of February 2008.