Unnatural Disasters, by Gonzalo Lizarralde (introduction)

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G O N Z A LO L I Z A R R A L D E

LIZARRALDE

Praise for

U N N AT U R A L D I S A S T E R S “In this book, Gonzalo Lizarralde tackles some of the most pressing and difficult questions the world faces today as we struggle to adapt to climate change and intensified disasters. The result is a valuable and unique compendium of wisdom and experience, full of insight into both environmental problems and human nature.”

“Lizarralde provides an erudite and searing critique of the development paradigm and its buzzwords, and ultimately challenges the reader to find hope in the courage and leadership of the oppressed. The highly accessible stories contained in this book radically humanize and uplift people experiencing the long-term process of a disaster. Unnatural Disasters is a call to repoliticize our narratives and consider our participation in this site of contested power.” J A S O N VO N M E D I N G , M. E. Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management, Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, University of Florida

U N N AT U R A L DISASTERS

DAV I D A L E X A N D E R , professor of risk and disaster reduction, University College London

U N N AT U R A L DISASTERS W H Y M O S T R E S P O N S E S TO R I S K A N D C L I M AT E C H A N G E FA I L B U T S O M E S U C C E E D

S

torms, floods, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other disasters seem not only more frequent but

also closer to home. As the world faces this onslaught, we have placed our faith in “sustainable development,” which promises that

we can survive and even thrive in the face of climate change and other risks. Yet while claiming to “go green,” we have instead created new risks, continued to degrade nature, and failed to halt global warming. Unnatural Disasters offers a new perspective on our most pressing environmental and social challenges, revealing the gaps between abstract concepts like sustainability, resilience, and innovation and the real-world experiences of people living at risk. Gonzalo Lizarralde explains how the causes of disasters are not natural but all alization, colonialism, neoliberalism, racism,

where he holds the Fayolle-Magil Construc-

gaps that we need to bridge in order to limit risk creation. Lizarralde’s account of ordinary

and unrestrained capitalism. He tells the

tion Chair in Architecture, Built Environment,

people’s experiences is wonderful and will help readers connect with the issue.”

and Sustainability. He is the director of the Canadian Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Reconstruction Research Alliance. His books include The Invisible Houses: Rethinking and Designing Low-Cost Housing in Developing Countries (2014).

K S E N I A C H M U T I N A , coauthor of Disaster Risk Reduction for the Built Environment

“This book draws on Lizarralde’s long experience as a scholar and practitioner to examine, in an engaging prose and with a sharp eye, the roots, complexities, and consequences of what he lucidly calls ‘unnatural disasters’ and responses to them. By taking an intellectual scalpel to commonly held assumptions and conventional solutions, backed by rigorously researched case studies in a social justice framework, Unnatural Disasters makes an important contribution to development scholarship, policy formulation, and practice.” J U L I O D. DÁV I L A , professor of urban policy and international development, University College London

WHY MOST RESPONSES TO

accessible and passionate way. It also challenges our current thinking by highlighting the

R I S K A N D C L I M AT E C H A N G E

“This book explains the contentious and complex topic of why disasters are not natural in an

of architecture at the Université de Montréal,

FA I L B U T S O M E S U C C E E D

G O N Z A LO L I Z A R R A L D E is professor

COVE R DE SIGN

earthquake survivors, Canadian climate activists, African slum dwellers, and other people resisting social and environmental injustices around the world. Lizarralde shows that most reconstruction and riskreduction efforts exacerbate social inequalities. Some responses do produce meaningful changes, but they are rarely the ones powerful leaders have in mind. This book reveals how disasters have become both the causes and consequences poses achievable solutions to save a planet at risk, emphasizing the power citizens hold

COVE R IMAGE

Simone Gilioli / stock.adobe.com AUTHOR P HOTO

stories of Latin American migrants, Haitian

of today’s most urgent challenges and pro-

Elliott S. Cairns

Université de Montréal

too human: inequality, segregation, margin-

to change the current state of affairs. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

C O L U M B I A U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S   |   N E W Y O R K   |   C U P. C O L U M B I A . E D U

COLUMBIA


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