Most residents will also have to pay an insurance deductible, and lower-income people are more likely to have a high deductible. Given the fact that many Americans say they don't have $400 for an unanticipated emergency, this means that many Houstonians will suffer another hardship as they replace their cars.
And they will have to replace them, just to survive. Houston is geographically broad, and it's difficult to live or work there without an automobile. That's why the car ownership rate there is 94.4 percent, second only to Dallas. By contrast, supposedly car-crazy Los Angeles has an ownership rate of only 86.5 percent.
An estimated 15 percent of Houston residents don't have car insurance, which is likely to mean they can't replace them at all. That could doom them to joblessness and poverty, which raises the question: can car ownership ever be considered a fundamental right?
Replacement cars are already making their way to Houston. They will make climate change worse, and so will help lay the groundwork for future disastrous hurricanes. Cars are part of the problem in the long run, not part of the solution.
Houston, like other cities that lack effective public transportation, force their residents to rely on cars. This is like imposing a regressive kind of "life tax" that imposes a disproportionate burden on lower-income people.
Future rebuilding efforts need to concentrate, not just on replacing what was there before, but in replacing it with something better. That means public transportation, and government investment in cheaper and more energy-efficient vehicles.
5. Rebuilding efforts must repair the planet, as well as the city.
We have been repairing the damage caused by climate change by rebuilding infrastructure that makes climate change worse. That is, very literally, insane. We should replace destroyed homes with ones that are energy-efficient, repair highways and bridges so that they impose less wear and tear on vehicles, and (as mentioned above) build or upgrade mass transit wherever possible.
Disaster recovery efforts should also include mitigation of future disasters. In Houston's case that means slowing or stopping development on nearby wetlands, a reckless undertaking that makes flooding more severe.
Rebuilding efforts must consider the planet, as well as the city.
6. Safe, well-governed communities are a human right.
Lastly, it needs to be recognized that we've taken a reckless and shortsighted approach toward urban planning and regulation over the last several decades. Whether it is the deregulation that has contributed to Harvey's environmental and human toll, or the lack of foresight that is exacerbated our housing and transportation crises, we've allowed our cities to become unsafe spaces. That needs to stop.
Every human being has the right to be safe. Every human being has the right to expect that their government will protect them, from human greed as well as natural disasters. Under the sway of the cult of privatization, our municipal, state and national governments have been falling down on the job. That has to change.
ConclusionAs this is being written, Hurricane Irma has devastated much of the Caribbean and is bearing down on Puerto Rico and Florida. Scientists say that its record winds and "epic" size is being fueled by climate change. There will be more storms like it in the future -- and very possibly worse.
We need to be ready for disaster -- with our satellites, our rescue teams, with our earth movers and cranes. But we also need to be ready with our values and our ideals. It's time to redefine disaster recovery -- not as an opportunity for exploitation, and not even to restore the status quo, but as a way to heal from the rapid and slow-moving disasters happening all around us.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
