Cite is launching a new series of weekly recommend readings from experts and our editorial committee. We begin with a selection by Rice Architecture Dean Sarah Whiting, who has chosen pieces that were done on the heels of Harvey but that provoke long-term thinking, not just immediate reactions.

The Devil's Own Day in Houston: Letter from the Publisher
Glasstire, August 29, 2017.

Rainy Knudson writes, "Everyone wants to be a good neighbor. And so the terrible beauty of the natural disaster (and it is dreadfully, terrifyingly beautiful) is matched by the terrible beauty of the fact that, in the moment, we easily fall into the human empathy that we know we should be capable of demonstrating on a daily basis. Along with the spectacle of suffering comes the spectacle of generosity and heroism by regular people. You can’t help but be inspired."

Photo by Tom Flaherty.

 

Photo by Tom Flaherty.

 

Photo by Tom Flaherty.

 

Photo by Tom Flaherty.

 

In Hurricane Harvey’s Wake, We Need a Green ‘New Deal’
New York Times, August 31, 2017.

Rebecca Elliot writes, "Recovery from previous disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, has had regressive effects, heightening the disparities between rich and poor and perpetuating systemic racism. Certainly, the hurricane’s victims need all the help we can provide. But this historic storm, like the Great Depression, should also motivate a reconsideration of our broader social contract: a new New Deal. Environmentalists and scholars have sometimes called this a 'green New Deal' or 'environmental Keynesianism.'"

After Hurricane Harvey, Houston’s Slow and Uneven Recovery Begins
New Yorker, August 30, 2017

Ben Taub writes, "A few blocks west of 288, I found a homeless man, who introduced himself as Larry, sitting on the corner of San Jacinto and Binz Streets, near the Museum of Fine Arts. He seemed in a daze. 'It was very strange,' he told me. 'The water subsided very quickly. It was over that curb right there, but then it was all gone in about five or ten minutes.'"

What Happens after the Storm Abates
Warren Olney, KCRW, August 30, 2017

Warren Olney, host of KCRW's To the Point, speaks with Tracy Jan of the Washington Post, Samuel Brody of Texas A&M University, Elizabeth Ferris of Georgetown University, Nolan Hicks of American-Statesman, St. John Barned-Smith of the Houston Chronicle, and David Waggoner of Waggonner & Ball Architects. They talk about Harvey and what New Orleans went through when it was struck by Katrina just 12 years ago. They discuss the struggle for recovery from one disaster while making plans for the next one.

Longform Podcast: Episode #215
Max Linsky with Krista Tippett, Longform, October 12, 2016

Regarding this recommendation, Whiting writes, "To throw something in that’s completely different: Episode #215 from Longform [featuring] Krista Tippett who did a brilliant job of articulating how one should listen (and how to do an interview)."

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