Fostering Community Resilience

Homeland Security and Hurricane Katrina

Using the Mississippi Gulf Coast as a case study, this book focuses on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and develops the concept of resilience and how it applies to Homeland Security in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster to hit the United States. Through the lens of the national response to Hurricane Katrina and the local lens of the recovery of the Mississippi Gulf Coast community, this work elucidates the particular qualities that make a community and a nation more resilient, discussing resilience as a concept and an application. Additionally, it explores in-depth the interconnected fields that comprise resilience; including economic, social, infrastructure, and political domains. By examining what went right, what went wrong, and what can be improved upon during the Mississippi Gulf Coast's recovery, scholars and policymakers can better understand community resilience not just as a concept, but also as a practice.