Disasters by Design provides an alternative and sustainable way to view, study, and manage hazards in the United States that would result in disaster-resilient communities, higher environmental quality, inter- and intragenerational equity, economic sustainability, and improved quality of life. This volume provides an overview of what is known about natural hazards, disasters, recovery, and mitigation, how research findings have been translated into policies and programs; and a sustainable hazard mitigation research agenda. Also provided is an examination of past disaster losses and hazards management over the past 20 years, including factorsâ€"demographic, climate, socialâ€"that influence loss. This volume summarizes and sets the stage for the more detailed books in the series.

The thrill of victory…the agony of defeat. We're not talking about just any failure. Design failure. So public. So humiliating. How do designers who are really, really good (we swear!) turn a disaster into a triumph? Read this book and find out, as dozens of top names reveal the heartbreaking—and sometimes hilarious—mistakes they have made and talk about how they were able to grow from the experiences. Self-delusion, overcommitment, procrastination…they’re all here. Poor communication, missed deadlines, enraged clients…yes, they’re here too. Read Design Disasters and weep? No! Read Design Disasters and be inspired to find the silver lining in even the cloudiest situation. Featuring essays by: Henry Petroski • Alissa Walker • David Barringer • Allan Chocinov • Peter Blegvad • Ross MacDonald • Robert Grossman • Ina Saltz • Warren Lehrer • Rob Trostle • Ralph Caplan • Richard Saul Wurman • Marian Bantjes • Rick Meyerowitz • Amanda Bowers • David Jury • Veronique Vienne • Francis Levy • Colin Berry • Nick Curry • Debbie Millman, and more!

A gripping novel about two young married couples--expectant parents and new friends--whose lives collide in a pile-up of deceits and indiscretions It was the exhilaration of new parenthood that first united Michael and Paul, outside the Brooklyn hospital where their wives, Rebecca and Jenny, had exiled them from the delivery room. For Paul, though, tragedy swiftly followed that euphoria. Hoping to speed his and Jenny's recovery, he turns to Michael for a favor, unwittingly kindling the spark of connection between these couples into the affair that will blow them apart. One year later, on the same morning that the catastrophes of their personal lives come to an explosive head, a mysterious crisis in Midtown Manhattan all but shuts down the city, leaving both men stranded--Michael at the northernmost tip of the island and Paul in a dark subway tunnel under the East River. Each must make the arduous trek home through record-breaking heat, nervously eyeing the thin plume of smoke above the skyline, though it's their private turmoils that loom largest. Told in the alternating voices of these charismatic but deeply flawed men, Little Disasters deftly cuts between the suspense of the citywide disaster and the history of secrets, lies, and losses that has brought these four intertwined lives to the brink. Smart, unsparing, and bitingly funny, Randall Klein's debut is an engrossing story of the bonds of love and family--and our unending urges to test them, even when we need them most.

This volume addresses the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster; disappearance of what was the world's fourth largest inland body of water. It argues this was the result of deliberate policy decisions. This volume is essential reading for everyone concerned with averting environmental disaster and in creating livable, sustainable communities.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Dull Disasters? shows how countries and their partners can better prepare for natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, floods, and drought. By harnessing lessons from finance, political science, economics, psychology, and the naturalsciences, it is possible for governments, civil society, private firms, and international organizations to work together to achieve better preparedness, thereby reducing the risks to people and economies and enablingquicker recoveries. In this way, responses to disasters become less emotional, less political, less headline-grabbing, and more business as usual and effective.

"MOP 144 provides guidance and underlying framework for creating consistency across hazards, systems, and sectors in the design of new infrastructure systems and in enhancing the resilience of existing ones"--