'Natural' disasters as (neo-liberal) opportunity? Discussing post-hurricane Katrina urban regeneration in New Orleans

摘要

By providing a wide literature review, post-hurricaneudKatrina uneven urban regeneration in New Orleans isudpresented here by framing it within a historicaludperspective in order to underline how environmentaludthreats too often seem to be not so much “natural”udbut rather man-made as well as to highlight both theudreasons and the ways in which, in post-disasterudreconstruction, competitive growth has been valuedudover equity, by directly benefiting those who wereudalready the most advantaged. The aim is to highlightudhow environmental disasters can be considered asudsocially constructed phenomena, as they cannot beudseen as a single event but rather as a process madeudby a series of progressive steps occurring withinuddifferent spheres, which do not necessarily concernudthe environment only.