As a mis-placed (now in chicago) Texan from Houston I've been watching post-IKE news like a hawk...

There hasn't been much speak of rebuilding in some of the worst-hit areas, Galveston, Jamaica Beach, Orange, Surfside....what's going to happen once all the debris is gone? What kind of building is going to take place? Are we just going to build more houses on stilts on the beach and hope that it's far enough back? Anyone working down there in arch firms hearing anything? I know this is a different scale than Katrina, but on this smaller scale maybe there is room for more intense experimentation - not only in building technologies, but in re-zone, re defining urban areas, the cost/benefit of living on the water....how to support the lowest income residents who are in the most vulnerable areas of the coast? Alot of questions....just surprised there hasn't been a larger conversation among architects.designers.community builders on this yet. We've had a chance to get with the program in New Orleans...I don't want to see more communities get built that are just going flood and get blown away the next time the 100 year storm comes 50 years early...