Warren Chan

Mission 2010                             

Update: 10 New Sources        

References

Barry, J. M. (1997). Rising tide: The great Mississippi flood of 1927 and how it changed America. New York: Simon & Schuster.

This book examines the socioeconomic transformation of the Mississippi region after the devastating flood of 1927. The role in which different arms of society played in previous outbreaks of disaster enable policymakers to gauge and improve present and future reaction to floods. The flood of 1927 is like Katrina, a great one, and affected more than 1 million people. The flood shook the political environment of the nation, and thus affected the stability, leadership, and overall political climate regulating the businesses.

Benke, A. C., & Cushing, C. E. (2005). Rivers of north America. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press.

This source provides detailed information on the Mississippi River and its many tributaries. Flooding involves numerous water sources. In the case of New Orleans, the city is surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain, the Gulf of New Mexico, and the Mississippi River. Studying the different flows and origin of the water sources give a clear image of what preventive action needs to be taken against the risk of flooding.

Cheatham, L. R., & Mississippi State University. Water Resources Research Institute. (1979). An assessment of some economic impacts of FIA land use requirements on urban coastal zone development. Mississippi State, Miss.: Water Resources Research Institute, Mississippi State University.

Insurance policies are not the only factor in shaping urban coastal development. The interplay between government and private industry shapes coastal zone development. The study of federal land use requirements enables insurance policymakers to understand the political arm dealing with the management of these risk prone regions.

Colten, C. E. (2005). An unnatural metropolis: Wresting new Orleans from nature. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.

The focus of this source lies in its distinction of New Orleans as a particularly unique city facing tremendous environmental, political, and economic challenges. The engineered modifications to New Orleans are documented from 1800 to 2000 and enable policymakers to review and improvise the utilized methods. This source proposes drainage systems and reintroducing coastal wetlands as possible remedies to protect the city of New Orleans.

Colten, C. E. (2000). Transforming new Orleans and its environs: Centuries of change. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

This source covers the environmental history of New Orleans. Crevasses, levees, and the Mississippi River are examined and should be studied by policymakers. This book provides illustrations of elevated sites and ignites discussion of probable redistribution of people. Previous environmental disasters including the Mississippi River flood of 1927 and Hurricane Betsy are ones which greatly affected New Orleans. These events need to be taken into account to determine risk and form models to calculate future risk.

Design Advisor. (2006). Affordable Housing. http://www.designadvisor.org/.

As we look into building codes, we want to ensure environmentally codes are in place in order to mitigate global warming and provide a model for a more responsible lifestyle for all Americans. This site provides examples of affordable housing projects, which are applicable to the demographic we are designing the Lower Ninth Ward for.

Federal Alliance for Safe Homes. (2006). http://www.flash.org/

This nonprofit corporation serves to educate the public about disasters including flooding, hurricanes, power outages, and thunderstorms. Since our team wants to promote the development of safer infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding and its damages, it makes sense to study the information nonprofits such as FLASH promote. This organization offers an insurance guide to homeowners; our team looks forward to recommending aspects of public education on insurance, natural disasters, and building codes that have not appeared in its publications.

Hecker, J. Z., & United States. General Accounting Office. (2003). Flood Insurance. Washington, D.C.: U.S. General Accounting Office.

This General Accounting Office source provides a carefully crafted study of the challenges facing the National Flood Insurance Program. Challenges cover the topics of budget, financing, policy subsidies, and possible low participating in this program. This source provides the government perspective of how insurance is run and how the field could be run.

Horne, J. (2006). Breach of faith: Hurricane Katrina and the near death of a great American city (1st ed.). New York: Random House.

This book examines Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. The book dissects the aftermath into social, political, and economic realms that failed to pull together a plan of action for prevention or response. Insurance policymakers need to understand the commitment of the community to preventing risk should play an important role in determining and distributing insurance rates. This source examines the roles of city officials and reports on the insured losses of the populace.

Institute for Business & Home Safety. (2006). http://www.ibhs.org/.

This institute advocates for better construction and maintenance of commercial and residential buildings. As our group envisions revising insurance through the lens of building codes, this source serves as a catalyst for the generation of our own ideas and proposals. Our team vision, as well as that of this institute, is one where New Orleans and other cities across the globe develop infrastructure that can withstand heavy damage. In addition to this point, we would also like to advocate environmentally sound building codes, materials, and technology. 

Institute of Rational Design. (1977). National flood insurance program: Guidebook for communities. New York: The Institute of Rational Design, Inc.

The National Flood Insurance Program serves as the arbiter of government role in insurance. Since this program directly addresses insurance, policymakers in the insurance industry need a firm grasp of the efficiencies, inefficiencies, organization, and extent of power of this program. This source provides detailed information on the National Flood Insurance Program.

Insurance Information Institute (2006). http://www.iii.org/.

Facts, statistics, and updates on flood insurance, home insurance, and wind insurance are provided. This site serves as a general source of solid information about the insurance industry and its current challenges. It includes definitions for insurance jargon, which our team understands is necessary to analyze current insurance policies. Financial statistics specifically related to Hurricane Katrina and the insurance industry are listed.

Kelman, A. (2003). A river and its city: The nature of landscape in new Orleans. Berkeley: University of California Press.

The title depicts the relatively tiny power of man and his constructions when facing the power of nature. This sets the scene for a realistic approach and examination of the risk New Orleans faces and its history of dealing with the realization of the risk. Maps and court cases provide a starting point for the insurance industry to examine its willingness to forge deeper commitments to formulating and selling insurance policies. The book accounts for the evolution of the levees and provides historical accounts of the city’s disasters.

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (2003). http://www.lacitizens.com/.

In addition to utilizing op-eds and scholarly articles for inspiration, we are directly evaluating the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which has a presence in Louisiana and Florida. Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana plans to reimburse her constituents who have faced 10 to 15% increase in insurance rates from this state company. As our team decides on how to approach the problem of reforming the industry, this piece serves as a guideline to current policies and financial statements.

Marchand, M. (2003). Dealing with flood risk: Proceedings of an interdisciplinary seminar on the regional implications of modern flood management. Delft: DUP Science.

This source provides excellent references to flood management in the international realm and provides current information on risk assessment, stakeholder responses to flood management plans, and regional planning. Policymakers can use international models to see, mold, and possibly implement the fresh ideas from abroad. Also, policymakers can participate in the international dialogue to accelerate the planning process for land use and insurance.

Massachusetts Housing Partnership. (2006). http://www.mhp.net/.

This nonprofit organization is involved with ensuring the availability of affordable housing for Massachusetts residents. Issues of homeownership and rental financing are also faced in New Orleans. This organization has experience in locating “smart-growth” locations for housing rental units.

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Coastal Erosion Zone Management. (1990). Managing coastal erosion. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Coastal erosion plays an important role in floods and therefore needs to be examined for insurance policies. The source covers the scientific background of coastal erosion covering causes, effects, and distribution. With technically sophisticated models, scientists predict future shoreline changes. This source examines the historical shoreline change method. With the variety of states on the coast, this book outlines state programs and experiences and outlines national involvement.

National Research Council. Committee on the Restoration and Protection of Coastal Louisiana, & National Academies Press. (2006). Drawing Louisiana's new map: Addressing land loss in coastal Louisiana. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

This study highlights the efforts of the Louisiana Coastal Area Plan, or Coast 2050, which serves as a guide for current thinking in the planning of restoring coastal Louisiana. Our team wants to create novel insurance policies for coastal regions, and information about plans for reducing risk and arbitration of regional restoration efforts would affect these policies. Since our team wants to create a grand proposal for an international body called the Coastal Congressional Committee, or possibly Continental Coastal Congressional Committee, the purpose, constitution, and implementation of the Louisiana Coastal Area Plan serves as a guideline for policymaking.

Niedzielski, Joe & Seifert, Catherine. (July 13, 2006). Industry Surveys, Insurance: Property-Casualty. Standard & Poor’s.

This survey includes a background on the current environment within the insurance industry including information about improved loss trends, competitive pressures, federal regulation, and changes to business practice. A property insurance analyst and a financial writer provide insight into financial buffers, cash circulation, profit predictions, leverage, and the links between people and the insurance business. As our group focuses on the possibility of a hurricane tax policy, the issues of profitability and federal regulation need to be analyzed.

Reiss, R. -., & Thomas, M. (2001). Statistical analysis of extreme values : From insurance, finance, hydrology, and other fields (2nd ed.). Basel ; Boston: Birkhäuser Verlag.

This source illuminates the mathematical models behind the analysis of risk, which is a study of the possibility of extremes. This source serves as a technical guide to insurance policymakers and discusses the topics of insurance and general finance. The rebuilding of New Orleans will involve a large amount of capital and studies need to be conducted to estimate the cost and forecast the economic benefit of redeveloping certain regions. A flood frequency analysis model is undertaken in this source.

Rivlin, Gary. (January 1, 2006). In New Orleans, Housing Sales are Bright Spot. New York Times.

As our class explores the possibility of developing the areas north of Lake Pontchartrain, we want to explore the demand for housing in order to determine the necessity of building massive infrastructure projects to span the Lake. The existing bridge connecting the northern end of New Orleans with the opposite end of the lake is one of the longest bridges in the world. KB Home plans on constructing 20,000 homes in a suburb west of the city. As residents move into more permanent existing housing in higher elevated areas and move into residential developments west of the city, we need to seriously reconsider the cost effectiveness and desirability of building a satellite community. Residents across the lake will have much longer commute times than the residents who reside to the west of New Orleans or across the Mississippi River.

Steinberg, T. (2000). Acts of god: The unnatural history of natural disaster in America. New York: Oxford University Press.

This book adds to the literature involving Hurricane Katrina another perspective to its aftermath. This source studies the history of natural disaster in diverse areas not limited to the New Orleans metropolitan area. Disasters are not limited to floods nor are they limited to New Orleans. Insurance policymakers need to craft standardized insurance policies but should explore the possibilities of altered rates and plans for coastal regions.

Tidwell, M. (2006). The ravaging tide: Strange weather, future katrinas, and the coming death of America’s coastal cities. New York: Free Press.

This source covers the big environmental issues that led to Hurricane Katrina. Policymakers need to clarify and understand the source of environmental disasters in order to address the problem at its source. The insurance industry would reduce its risk if it advocated government and academia to explore the benefits of clean energy, the harms of global warming and the possible accompaniment of sea level rise.

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. (2005). National Flood Insurance Program further Enhanced Borrowing Authority Act of 2005 :. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.

This source provides the political perspective straight from the Beltway and highlights the recent developments involving flood insurance and borrowing policies. The insurance industry needs to stay up-to-date in the realm of political regulation of the business. Legislation and flood laws are examined and affect the industry and the consumer.

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. (2005). Treatment of Certain Payments Under National Flood Insurance Program :. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.

Cost estimates are undertaken in this study conducted by the Committee on Financial Services. The insurance industry can utilize these studies to estimate appropriate rates and distribution of rate policies. Budget authority, tax expenditure, and entitlement authority are addressed and should be examined by the insurance industry and interested citizens.

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. (2003). Exempt Certain Coastal Barrier Property from Financial Assistance and Flood Insurance Limitations :. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.

As the title suggests, this Senate hearing brings up the issue of what insurance should do to affect the demographics in order to bring about more development in safer regions. This source gives a sound political reasoning for exempting certain properties from financial assistance and flood insurance limits. Development on the Capitol includes the “Two Floods and You are out of the Taxpayers’ Pocket Act of 2003.”

United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2006). Homes & Communities. http://www.hud.gov/.

As our group hones in on housing and building codes, this Federal program provides fantastic information about buying, owning, selling, and renting options. Additionally, fair housing and home improvement recommendations are given and provide a good basis of what we need to consider when we design our approach to revising building codes.

United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Flood Insurance Studies (FIS). Jessup, Md.: FEMA Map Service Center distributor.

This source serves as a guide to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s function and contains data from its flood insurance study, which is a report of flood hazards in all fifty states. The history of flooding in different areas, the engineering methods used to counter the effects of flooding, and flood maps serve as studies needed to reform regional risk management and determination of insurance policies.

United States. Federal Insurance Administration. (1977). How to read a flood insurance rate map: A guide for interested citizens, community officials, lending institutes, and insurance agents. Washington: Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration.

On a micromanagement level, the insurance industry determines the flood insurance rates for all regions. This source illuminates the methods, reasoning, and necessity behind formulating these otherwise seemingly arbitrary rates. A transparent insurance industry leads to a better informed public, improves the image of the insurance industry, and results in better services for the consumer.

United States. National Ocean Service. Special Projects, Crossett, K. M., & United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2004). Population trends along the coastal united states: 1980-2008. Silver Spring, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Management and Budget Office, Special Projects.

Policymakers from the private and public sectors can consult this census to determine the dynamics of human migration, immigration, and emigration. The trends allow insurance policymakers to craft adaptable insurance policies that take into account the added or reduced risk taken by a population influx or loss.

 

 

MIT
Comments and questions to wmchan@mit.edu