Responding to Risk: The Making of Hazard Mitigation Strategy in Post-Katrina New Orleans

New Orleans faces unique types of catastrophic risk resulting from a combination of factors that include potential levee failure, land subsidence, coastal erosion, rising sea level, and stronger and more frequent storm activity. A comprehensive hazard mitigation strategy would address these unique types of catastrophic risks in addition to addressing the standard types of repetitive risk already covered by conventional approaches. Diverse actors are engaged in the making of this new strategy. This paper introduces New Orleans' response to its emerging risk profile, with emphasis on the risk of flooding.