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As forecasts suggest that natural disasters will continue to increase in frequency, size, and severity (IPCC 2013), there is a need to better understand how communities recover from natural disasters and how they can increase their resilience to future disasters (Arendt and Alesch 2015; Sapat et al. 2011). Sapat and Esnard’s edited book, Coming Home after Disaster: Multiple Dimensions of Housing Recovery, thus comes at an ideal time and draws attention to the more limited research topic of postdisaster housing recovery. Indeed, unlike other topics in the disaster management field, the literature on housing recovery in a postdisaster setting has received relatively little empirical and theoretical attention. This is surprising given that housing issues present some of the most challenging and complex aspects of disaster recovery (Arendt and Alesch 2015; Quarantelli 1982; Sapat et al. 2011). This limited body of knowledge coupled with the pragmatic importance of understanding how communities can better engage postdisaster housing issues suggests that this book will be of great value to scholars, students, practitioners, and policy makers alike. In Coming Home after Disaster, Sapat and Esnard, along with their 31 contributors, do a deft job reviewing and synthesizing a rich collection of findings from more than two decades of empirical and theoretical research on disaster recovery in the United States and abroad through a holistic, multidisciplinary lens. A diverse set of expertise is critical, according to Sapat and Esnard, because “housing issues are also inextricably intertwined with social, economic, and political considerations” (p. xxix). Capitalizing on this diverse and impressive set of expertise, this book considers four central themes associated with postdisaster housing recovery: (1) vulnerability and marginalization; (2) location, land use, and land-use planning; (3) the role of government, private, and nonprofit organizations; and (4) the role of communities in the disaster recovery process. Altogether, this book contains four interrelated sections and 19 chapters. Section 1 consists of five chapters that provide the foundation for understanding housing recovery issues in a postdisaster setting. Indeed, Chapter 1 discusses the key issues and challenges associated with disaster recovery such as a lack of predisaster recovery planning, implementation capacity, funding and inflexible government programs, and the marginalization of poor communities. Chapter 2 explores how social vulnerability influences disaster recovery and pays particularly close attention to how marginalized groups (e.g., women, children, elderly, and low-income minority groups) navigate the postdisaster housing recovery process. Building on the previous two chapters, Chapter 3 discusses how actions made by governmental and humanitarian organizations can significantly influence recovery trajectories and how these actions affect the displacement, return, and relocation of individuals and households. Chapter 4 takes a turn from the previous three chapters and explores how postdisaster housing recovery issues are financed in the United States. This chapter seems particularly relevant to practitioners and policy makers, as the authors discuss in great detail issues associated with hazard insurance and, more specifically, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Issues related to the NFIP have spurred numerous conversations in recent years, as studies have found that, although designed to reduce communities’ risk and exposure to flooding, the program actually incentivizes settlement in flood-prone areas (Silvis 2018). Sapat concludes the first section of this book by discussing the role politics, policy, and governance play in disaster recovery. The central focus of this chapter is to unpack a key paradox of disaster recovery in the political sphere. That is, “public policies either reduce hazard risks and increase community resilience or perpetuate mistakes and increase vulnerabilities” (p. 67). Considered together, this first section provides the reader with a strong understanding of the importance and complexity of disaster recovery in general and housing recovery in particular and sets the stage for future chapters on these topics. Section 2 builds on the key concepts discussed in Section 1 and focuses on understanding the complexity of postdisaster housing recovery specifically in the United States. For example, Chapter 6 presents the results of a comparative case study of two communities in Texas affected by Hurricanes Dolly and Ike. The authors found that households characterized as socially and physically vulnerable have higher levels of initial damage, have fewer and less dependable forms of assistance, and face greater challenges in using assistance. The authors also found that social and economic inequities result in slower recovery processes, especially for low-income minority households. The main argument made by the authors of this chapter is that more effective land-use policies and capital investment projects can reduce vulnerabilities and lead to improved recovery outcomes. Chapter 7 further addresses the inequities in disaster recovery by examining the factors that influence the availability of affordable housing options in the aftermath of natural disasters. Specifically, using the 2013 Colorado Floods as the empirical setting, the authors found that “land availability, the housing market, government priorities, and the capability, reputations, and commitments of local agencies” play a role in the decision to rebuild affordable housing options in the aftermath of a natural disaster (p. 108). Chapter 8 underscores the importance of strong coordination and collaboration among a variety of organizations and groups (e.g., government agencies, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and universities) before, during, and after the recovery process, using the 2011 Joplin, Missouri, Tornados as the analytical focus. Moving forward, Chapter 9 presents the results of a study

natural hazards review

Review of<i>Coming Home after Disaster: Multiple Dimensions of Housing Recovery</i>Edited by Alka Sapat and Ann-Margaret EsnardCRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 33487; 2017; ISBN 9781498722865; 358 pp.; $89.95.

Review ofComing Home after Disaster: Multiple Dimensions of Housing RecoveryEdited by Alka Sapat and Ann-Margaret EsnardCRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 33487; 2017; ISBN 9781498722865; 358 pp.; $89.95.