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Urban Disasters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2023

Cindy Ermus
Affiliation:
University of Texas, San Antonio

Summary

This Element explores the history of urban disasters around the globe over the last three-hundred years. It introduces the reader to central concepts that help define the study of disasters, then moves on to explore the relationship between cities and disasters including earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, and epidemics. It asks, for example: How have cities responded in times of crisis, and what practices, infrastructures, and/or institutions have they introduced to prevent disasters from reoccurring? Who suffers most when urban disasters strike, and why? In what ways do catastrophes change cities? How, if at all, are cities unique from the countryside? To answer these questions and more, this concise history looks at a series of case studies from the eighteenth century through to COVID-19. The Element concludes with a brief look at the ongoing effects of climate change and the future of cities.
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Urban Disasters
  • Cindy Ermus, University of Texas, San Antonio
  • Online ISBN: 9781009004053
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Urban Disasters
  • Cindy Ermus, University of Texas, San Antonio
  • Online ISBN: 9781009004053
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Urban Disasters
  • Cindy Ermus, University of Texas, San Antonio
  • Online ISBN: 9781009004053
Available formats
×