Continuity, social change and Katrina

Abstract

For some time, disaster researchers have looked for social change and mostly found continuity. This paper argues that shifting the focus from investigating social change to documenting continuity may enhance the understanding and planning of post-disaster situations especially in industrialised societies like the United States. Drawing from qualitative data from post-Katrina New Orleans, it proposes using the concept of continuity as an analytical device both to identify the axes of continuity and evaluate the likelihood and possible dimensions of social change. The analysis of long-term recovery plans, along with field observations and interviews with evacuees, suggest that despite the well-documented emergence of conflict in post-Katrina New Orleans, the likelihood of social change appears limited.