Katrina Resources

Faculty Expertise and Roundtable White Papers

The College of Architecture at Texas A&M University is eager to contribute its expertise to relief and recovery in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. The series of Katrina Roundtables (22KB PDF) revealed that the faculty offers a uniquely deep and broad collection of expertise that can address the search for sustainable, just, economically viable solutions in a holistic way. Some of the experts within the college are listed below:

• Mike Lindell. Decreased attention to natural disasters in emergency planning has left the nation vulnerable in the wake of 9/11. In Katrina’s Aftermath, What Next? (22KB PDF)
• Walter G. Peacock. Recovery after the Katrina disaster must attend to long-term success for all stake holders. Dr. Peacock suggests a TAMU Rapid Disaster Response Initiative to enable data collection in the times of greatest stress. (15KB PDF)
• Jody Naderi. Surge Parks are an innovative idea for providing outdoor contemplative and recreational facilities and thus psychological relief to those evacuated to a shelter or temporary community in an emergency.
• Rodney Hill. Creativity will be a necessary ingredient to responding to Katrina disaster and facing future challenges.
• Mark J. Clayton. The status of New Orleans as a globally important seaport is presented in "The view from the levee: a case for restoring New Orleans after the hurricanes of 2005". (88KB PDF)
• Mark J. Clayton. The Katrina disaster may be related to global warming. Development and redevelopment of the built environment to reduce energy usage is of paramount importance to achieving a peaceful, society.
• Charles Graham. Moisture problems in the historic structures of New Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast assure that the stress on the inhabitants of that region has only just begun.
• George Mann. Following a major disaster, surge hospitals (2MB PDF) are a way of providing facilities for medical treatment when the permanent infrastructure is overwhelmed.
• Pliny Fisk III. A widely known authority in sustainability, Professor Fisk has an extensive record of achievements in green planning and design (27KB PDF). In his A Call for Other Key Professions, he points out that upstream waste has played a terrible role in the Katrina disaster. The nation must rethink its values and habits with regard to rainwater runoff, sewage treatment, industrial waste, and other destructive patterns. Reconstruction of the areas devastated by hurricane Katrina should incorporate best practices of sustainable, low energy, pollution free, city planning and housing construction.
• Robert Warden. Surveys and documentation of historic structures are needed to enable recovery of any city in the threatened gulf coastal region.
• Charles Culp. Oil – Crisis or Not? (57KB PDF) discusses projections for oil production, future prices of gasoline, and the potential for regional and global conflict that ensues because of shortages. Building Energy Efficiency – What’s Smart? (25K PDF) presents a vision of replacing homes and buildings in the aftermath of the Katrina hurricane with energy conserving structures.
• Sherry Bame. Evacuation of Katrina victims exposes the imperative to plan for evacuation sites in order to meet the needs of evacuees and their host community.
• Jerry Jackson. Onsite electricity production using new technologies can reduce the vulnerability of emergency response infrastructure. Maintaining Critical Services elaborates this assertion.
• Jorge Vanegas. The FIATECH Capital Projects Technology Roadmap can serve as an organizing framework for recovery and reconstruction in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Dr. Vanegas proposes to conduct a planning charrette (1MB PDF) to collect ideas from a diversity of experts.

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