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We can build homes to sit above flood waters so people can ride out the Harveys of the future, but it won’t be easy or cheap. [...]
More than a million people live in the 100- and 500-year flood zones across the Houston area, and hundreds of thousands more do in other U.S. cities, including Miami and New York. Harris County’s move conforms with the advice of building engineers, climate experts, and the insurance industry.
— Citylab
No other major metropolitan area in the U.S. has grown faster than Houston over the last decade, with a significant portion of new construction occurring in areas that the federal government considers prone to flooding.
But much of that new real estate in those zones did just fine, a Times analysis has found.
— Los Angeles Times
The City of Houston, notorious for its relative lack of zoning codes, did in fact take future flooding into account and mandated that new homes were to be built at least 12 inches above flood levels predicted by the federal government. "The 1985 regulation and others that followed," the LA Times... View full entry
As tens of thousands of Texans undergo a long, difficult recovery from Hurricane Harvey, research findings, and studio and service projects by faculty and students at Texas A&M University are helping individuals and communities learn how to emerge from the damage and how to mitigate the effects of future disasters. — Texas A&M University Newswire
The Texas A&M University is home to the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, studying prevention, response and recovery from natural disasters. Student efforts include gathering post-Harvey water samples and studying their quality, serving meals to the community and building models of... View full entry
![<a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixreguy/6005765788/in/photolist-7F6c68-bwJWT5-bg6vWP-SbW9bs-5ZdTsk-aqsLdW-a9H7W1-5Zi6ku-a9EjTK-a9EjXK-cc6WEY-a9H7Zo-a9H87o-a9EjPX-5PUSzs-5PQxz2-bUJfGH-5PQB5P-5PQAsX-bUJJb2-96sPRN-RGmNnP-5PQCYK-5PUNes-7MRmaG-5PQydx-a9H7EU-5PUUqL-a9H7B9-a9Eka6-5PUNX1-6WGD87-5PQA9x-5PUPCG-5PUZYs-o2VX3s-5PUNyq-dLaz1i-5PQywV-7MMkoD-5PQBpM-7MRk4b-5PUMW9-5PUV7u-5PURhw-5PURCQ-df93L6-cc6Na3-7MMmCM-7MRktj]">[Jay Thomson/Flirck]</a>](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/p9/p9t1m3ks7u6j4e9o.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514 "<a href=\"[https://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixreguy/6005765788/in/photolist-7F6c68-bwJWT5-bg6vWP-SbW9bs-5ZdTsk-aqsLdW-a9H7W1-5Zi6ku-a9EjTK-a9EjXK-cc6WEY-a9H7Zo-a9H87o-a9EjPX-5PUSzs-5PQxz2-bUJfGH-5PQB5P-5PQAsX-bUJJb2-96sPRN-RGmNnP-5PQCYK-5PUNes-7MRmaG-5PQydx-a9H7EU-5PUUqL-a9H7B9-a9Eka6-5PUNX1-6WGD87-5PQA9x-5PUPCG-5PUZYs-o2VX3s-5PUNyq-dLaz1i-5PQywV-7MMkoD-5PQBpM-7MRk4b-5PUMW9-5PUV7u-5PURhw-5PURCQ-df93L6-cc6Na3-7MMmCM-7MRktj]\">[Jay Thomson/Flirck]</a>")
Homebuilding could slump further in September in the aftermath of Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida. According to Census Bureau data, the areas in Texas and Florida that were devastated by the storms accounted for about 13 percent of permits issued in the nation last year. — Reuters
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have held down home completions in Texas and Florida, but the hurricane's aftermaths are also likely to slow homebuilding in the coming months as resources are redirected toward repairs and rebuilding efforts rather than new construction. Labor shortages are also... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects released a statement this morning, in light of damage wrought by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, urging policy makers to reject any weakening of building codes. President Thomas Vonier advocated for state and federal legislators to reject attempts to roll back... View full entry
As aid workers and Texans begin to take stock of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Harvey, museums across Houston, the fourth biggest city in the country and one of the areas hardest hit by the storm, are starting to reopen.
Gary Tinterow, the director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), announced Friday that the institution would partially reopen on Tuesday 5 September with free admission through Thursday, 7 September. He offered the museum “as a place for reflection and renewal.”
— The Art Newspaper
While a leisurely visit to the museum may not be on the minds right now of Houston residents hit the hardest by Hurricane Harvey, reopening its cultural institutions is an important first step for the city to start the long process of recovery and breathe new life into the civic spirit. View full entry
Houston calls itself “the city with no limits” to convey the promise of boundless opportunity. But it also is the largest U.S. city to have no zoning laws, part of a hands-off approach to urban planning that may have contributed to catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Harvey and left thousands of residents in harm’s way. — The Washington Post
Hurricane Harvey is drawing renewed scrutiny to Houston's 'Wild West' approach to planning and its unusual system for managing floodwater that, according to environmentalists, greatly diminishes land's natural ability to absorb water. While local officials have defended the city's take on... View full entry
Rain continues to fall in Houston, Texas, a city which may see up to 50 inches of precipitation over a span of five days thanks to the aftereffects of Hurricane Harvey. Unfortunately, the continued flooding has been exacerbated due to some decades-long, head-in-the-sand urban planning, the history... View full entry
Hurricane Harvey has been battering the Gulf Coast for days bringing in record floodwaters devastating much of southeast Texas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has estimated that 30,000 people are in need of emergency shelter and more than 450,000 will need the help of federal aid for... View full entry
