THE NATION'S FIRST NATURAL hazards assessment got under way in 1972 at the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado. Funded by the National Science Foundation and led by geographer Gilbert White and sociologist J. Eugene Haas, it was an interdisciplinary effort involving scores of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars from across the nation. Its purpose was to assess our knowledge about natural hazards and disasters, to identify major needed policy directions, and to inventory future research needs. The volume summarizing this endeavor, Assessment of Research on Natural Hazards in the United States, published in 1975, was a landmark in what was then a new field of study.

A quarter of a century later we find ourselves in a national conversation about how natural hazards mitigation can result in disaster-resilient communities. This conversation began in the early 1990s among a few individuals working in federal agencies and academia, and was articulated at a workshop in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1992, which was attended by many of the nation's leading natural hazards experts. They concluded that a second assessment of hazards in the

United States was needed, and that its unifying theme should be sustainable development, or development that enhances the capacity of the planet to provide a high quality of life now and in the future. A subsequent workshop in 1994 brought many of the same experts together to discuss and formulate an agenda for this second hazards assessment.

This book, which ensues from the second natural hazards assessment, is one of a series of works on natural hazards and disasters published by the Joseph Henry Press. A select group of experts were invited to expand upon their necessarily condensed contributions to the second assessment by developing individual works on major themes in the natural hazards and disasters field, including insurance, risk assessment, disaster preparedness and response, and mapping. This volume on land use management and natural hazards was written by a group headed by Raymond Burby of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of New Orleans. Cooperating with Nature focuses on the breakdown in sustainability that is signaled by natural disaster. The authors chronicle the long evolution of land use planning and identify key components of sustainable planning for hazards. The book describes the promise of land use management for achieving sustainability, explores reasons why this promise is not being realized uniformly by government at various levels, and proposes ways to foster sound land use decision making. The authors explain why sustainability and land use have not been taken into account in the formulation of public policy. They articulate a vision of sustainability, giving concrete suggestions for policy reform, and calling for a new National Hazardous Area Management Act and program to foster improved planning and management at state and local levels.

The second national natural hazards assessment was funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 93-12647, with supporting contributions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The support of these agencies is greatly appreciated. However, only the authors are responsible for the information, analyses, and recommendations contained in this book. Very special thanks are extended to J. Eleonora Sabadell and William A. Anderson of the National Science Foundation for placing their confidence in us to carry out this mission.

DENNIS S. MILETI, Director

Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center

University of Colorado at Boulder

RAYMOND J. BURBY, Editor, is DeBlois Chair of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of New Orleans. Former co-editor of the Journal of the American Planning Association, he is the author and editor of 14 books and numerous articles dealing with environmental management and planning. His research focuses on environmental hazards, regulatory systems, and local planning and land use management.

Contributing Authors

Timothy Beatley, University of Virginia

Philip R. Berke, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Raymond J. Burby, University of New Orleans

Robert E. Deyle, Florida State University

Steven P. French, Georgia Institute of Technology

David R. Godschalk, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Edward J. Kaiser, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jack D. Kartez, University of Southern Maine

Peter J. May, University of Washington

Robert B. Olshansky, University of Illinois

Robert G. Paterson, University of Texas

Rutherford H. Platt, University of Massachusetts