A thoughtful series in The New York Times challenges readers to consider how disasters affect the way we think about disasters — and how these shifts in thinking may change the way rebuilding occurs in the aftermath.
The article points to ways that rebuilding efforts require these changes, and the bridges they build moving forward. From incorporating indigenous voices into rebuilding museums to the conflict in Ukraine and what is preserved and lost amidst the detritus of war, the article asks us to consider how disaster recovery shapes the idea of the future. It looks at small localized recovery groups such as West Street Recovery, formed as a rescue mission in Houston post Hurricane Harvey, which has adapted and expanded to encompass the idea of perpetual disaster. “In this community, struck by disaster after disaster, they’ve found ways to move through both the recurring shocks and the systemic ills that give rise to them at once,” posits writer Matthew Thompson. “What would change about the ways we live in this age of disaster if we invested in that kind of localized mutual aid all over the globe?”
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/magazine/natural-disaster-rebuild.html
