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Taking Chances

The Coast after Hurricane Sandy

Edited by Karen M. O'Neill and Daniel J. Van Abs

Contributions by Robert B. Gramling, Steven G. Decker, David A. Robinson, Daniel Baldwin Hess, Brian W. Conley, Adelle Thomas, Ashley Koning, Daniel Redlaswk, Joanna Burger, Larry Niles, Angela Oberg, Julia A. Flagg, Bonnie McCay, Patricia M. Clay, Lisa L. Colburn, Kenneth A. Gould, Tammy L. Lewis, Mark Alan Hewitt, Briavel Holcomb, Clinton J. Andrews, Mariana Leckner, Melanie McDermott, James K. Mitchell, Karen M. O'Neill, Daniel J. Van Abs, Frank A. Felder and Shankar Chandramowli

Published by: Rutgers University Press

Subjects:Science, Public Policy, New York City and State, New Jersey and the Region, Environment and Ecology

304 Pages, 6.0 x 9.0 in, 10 photographs, 14 maps, 11 fi

Paperback
9780813573762
Published: June 3, 2016

Hardcover
9780813573779
Published: June 3, 2016

EPUB
9780813573786
Published: June 3, 2016

PDF
9780813573793
Published: June 3, 2016

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Humanity is deeply committed to living along the world’s shores, but a catastrophic storm like Sandy—which took hundreds of lives and caused many billions of dollars in damages—shines a bright light at how costly and vulnerable life on a shoreline can be. Taking Chances offers a wide-ranging exploration of the diverse challenges of Sandy and asks if this massive event will really change how coastal living and development is managed.

Bringing together leading researchers—including biologists, urban planners, utilities experts, and climatologists, among others—Taking Chances illuminates reactions to the dangers revealed by Sandy. Focusing on New Jersey, New York, and other hard-hit areas, the contributors explore whether Hurricane Sandy has indeed transformed our perceptions of coastal hazards, if we have made radically new plans in response to Sandy, and what we think should be done over the long run to improve coastal resilience. Surprisingly, one essay notes that while a large majority of New Jerseyans identified Sandy with climate change and favored carefully assessing the likelihood of damage from future storms before rebuilding the Shore, their political leaders quickly poured millions into reconstruction. Indeed, much here is disquieting. One contributor points out that investors scared off from further investments on the shore are quickly replaced by new investors, sustaining or increasing the overall human exposure to risk. Likewise, a study of the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn shows that, even after Sandy swamped the area with toxic flood waters, plans to convert abandoned industrial lots around the canal into high-density condominiums went on undeterred. By contrast, utilities, emergency officials, and others who routinely make long-term plans have changed operations in response to the storm, and provide examples of adaptation in the face of climate change.

Will Sandy be a tipping point in coastal policy debates—or simply dismissed as a once-in-a-century anomaly? This thought-provoking collection of essays in Taking Chances makes an important contribution to this debate.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Transformational Event, Just Another Storm, or Something in Between?

Karen M. O’Neill, Daniel J. Van Abs, and Robert B. Gramling

Part One: The Storm

Chapter 1: Hurricane Sandy from Meteorological and Climatological Perspectives

Steven G. Decker and David A. Robinson

Chapter 2: A Tough Move to Make: Lessons Learned from Emergency Evacuations in Coastal Connecticut during Hurricane Sandy

Daniel Baldwin Hess and Brian W. Conley

Part Two: The Days after the Storm

Chapter 3: Overlooked Impacts of Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean

Adelle Thomas

Chapter 4: Polling Post-Hurricane Sandy: The Transformative Personal and Political Impact of the Hurricane in New Jersey

Ashley A. Koning and David P. Redlawsk

Chapter 5: Ecological Injury and Responses to Hurricane Sandy: Physical Damage, Avian and Food Web Responses, and Anthropogenic Attempts to Aid Ecosystem Recovery in New Jersey Estuaries

Joanna Burger and Larry Niles

Chapter 6: Surviving Sandy: Identity and Cultural Resilience in a New Jersey Fishing Community

Angela Oberg, Julia A. Flagg, Patricia M. Clay, Lisa L. Colburn, and Bonnie McCay

Part Three: Planning for Change?

Chapter 7: Green Gentrification and Hurricane Sandy: The Resilience of the Green Growth Machine around Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal

Kenneth A. Gould and Tammy L. Lewis

Chapter 8: Boardwalks Reborn: Disaster and Renewal on the Jersey Shore

Mark Alan Hewitt

Chapter 9: A Sure/Shore Thing? Tourism Recovery in New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy

Briavel Holcomb

Chapter 10: Local Fiscal Impacts of Hurricane Sandy

Clinton J. Andrews

Chapter 11: Local Responses to Hurricane Sandy: Heterogeneous Experiences and Mismatches with Federal Policy

Mariana Leckner, Melanie McDermott, James K. Mitchell, and Karen M. O’Neill

Chapter 12: Water Utilities: Storm Preparedness and Restoration

Daniel J. Van Abs

Chapter 13: Impact of Extreme Events on the Electric Power Sector: Challenges, Vulnerabilities, Institutional Responses, and Planning Implications from Hurricane Sandy

Frank A. Felder and Shankar Chandramowli

Conclusion: Emerging Responses to Life on the Urbanized Coast after Hurricane Sandy

Daniel J. Van Abs and Karen M. O’Neill

Notes on Contributors

Index

"O'Neill and Van Abs examine Sandy's impacts through the perspectives of urban planners, ecologists, climatologists, policy makers, and emergency managers to assess the vulnerabilities of the northeastern coast and to help better plan for and mitigate future disasters … The essays argue for a more thoughtful, planned response to coastal rebuilding and development ... Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals and practitioners."
~Choice

"Taking Chances raises important questions about the long-term viability of coastal communities. It does so without proposing reductive solutions that ignore the attachment residents may feel to their homes. Together, these essays provide nuance to very complex problems that we will continue to face with increasing frequency in the future, making for a timely contribution to the literature. While each essay stands alone, they also work in tandem to explore how different entities (residents, businesses, government agencies, infrastructure, etc.) responded to Hurricane Sandy. Though the book focuses on Sandy, the findings speak to broader societal trends of risk perceptions and disaster response."
~Vanessa Parks, Lousiana State University, Rural Sociology

"Highly accessible and interdisciplinary in its approach, Taking Chances would be a fine contribution to any undergraduate or graduate course with a concentration on disaster studies, or climate change."
~City & Community

"Surrendering to Rising Seas" by Jen Schwartz
~Scientific American

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Taking Chances

The Coast after Hurricane Sandy

Taking Chances

The Coast after Hurricane Sandy

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