BiblioVault - Books by Godschalk, David

Catastrophic Coastal Storms

Hazard Mitigation and Development Management

David R. Godschalk, David J. Brower, and Timothy Beatley

Duke University Press, 1988

As people cluster on the coast in increasing numbers, coastal populations become more vulnerable to severe damage from catastrophic coastal storms. The authors contented that current public policy has proved unable to cope with the growing problem, and in response they present a comprehensive analysis of coastal storm hazards, standard policy approaches, and promising new means of managing coastal growth.

Catastrophic Coastal Storms offers a solution to the policy problem by proposing a merger of hazard mitigation with development management, basing this on extensive surveys of at-risk coastal locations and case studies of post-hurricane recovery. Starting with the local level of government and proceeding to state and federal levels, the authors propose a strategy for overcoming the formidable obstacles to safeguarding the shoreline population and its structures from hurricanes and other severe storms.

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Natural Hazard Mitigation

Recasting Disaster Policy And Planning

David Godschalk, Timothy Beatley, Philip Berke, David Brower, and Edward J. Kaiser

Island Press, 1999

The first half of the 1990s saw the largest and most costly floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes in the history of the United States. While natural hazards cannot be prevented, their human impacts can be greatly reduced through advance action that mitigates risks and reduces vulnerability.

Natural Hazard Mitigation describes and analyzes the way that hazard mitigation has been carried out in the U.S. under our national disaster law, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. It is the first systematic study of the complete intergovernmental system for natural hazard mitigation, including its major elements and the linkages among them.

The book:

analyzes the effectiveness of the Stafford Act and investigates what is contained in state hazard mitigation plans required by the Act
studies how federal hazard mitigation funds have been spent
explores what goes into decision making following a major disaster
looks at how government mitigation officials rate the effectiveness of the mitigation system
suggests changes that could help solve the widely recognized problems with current methods of coping with disasters

Damages from natural disasters are reaching catastrophic proportions, making natural hazard mitigation an important national policy issue. The findings and recommendations presented in this volume should help to strengthen natural hazard mitigation policy and practice, thereby serving to reduce drains on the federal treasury that pay for preventable recovery and relief costs, and to spare residents in areas hit by natural disasters undue suffering and expense. It is an informative and eye-opening study for planners, policymakers, students of planning and geography, and professionals working for government agencies that deal with natural hazards.

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Urban Land Use Planning, Fifth Edition

Philip R. Berke, David R. Godschalk, and Edward J. Kaiser, with Daniel A. Rodriguez

University of Illinois Press, 2006