Module 6: Formative Assessment 3

Responses to “Rebuild or Retreat?” question:

Make notes in response the following questions in preparation for completing the Pros and cons charts below.

  1. What is the logical explanation provided by Filipino Mayor Corro of Dan Bantayanfor pushing to relocate people of his neighborhood?
  2. What are some of the responses from the people who are faced by possible relocation?
  3. Describe the process experienced by the Staten Island residents in the Fox Beach neighborhood of Oakwood Beach in order to make the decision whether to rebuild or relocate.
  4. Describe the response by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the concept of retreating from New York City.
  5. Revisit the questions concerning New Orleans from the previous section. New Orleans has made great progress in rebuilding in the past nine years, in spite of the doubts people voiced by some people shortly after Katrina. What factors appear to have driven New Orleans’ recovery, based on the readings provided above? What will determine the sustainability of New Orleans and other towns on the Gulf Coast? Does New Orleans experience provide a good model for other places recovering from natural disasters? Can the lessons learned be applied elsewhere?
  6. After reading the information in the links above regarding Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, where do you stand in the debate about whether coastal cities devastated by natural disasters resulting from their coastal location and geography, should rebuild or whether communities should be relocated to places that are less exposed to coastal hazards. Is there a solution to this dilemma? What are the practical considerations for retreat? What are the human/ emotional considerations? Can relocation take place on a large scale, or can it occur only on a neighborhood or household by household scale?
  7. What should communities do that find themselves more frequently flooded because of sea level rise? How does this response differ when considering a small island nation like the Maldives compared to a tourism destination in the U.S., like the Outer Banks of North Carolina?

Rebuild or Retreat? Pros and Cons:

Use the table below to organize your thoughts about the considerations related to the question of whether to keep rebuilding in various coastal locations around the world.

Location / Relocation pros / Relocation cons
Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines
Maldive Islands
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Rodanthe, North Carolina, U.S.
Isle de Jean Charles, LA, U.S

Use the Pros and Cons boxes below to help you consider each of the “lenses” through which to look at the issue: Personal Economic; Commercial Economic; Social/ Political; Environmental/natural; and Geologic considerations.