San Fran's Lessons for New Orleans - BusinessWeek
How does a broken city pick up the pieces after a catastrophe? Here's what the Crescent City can take from the Great Earthquake of 1906
Between September, 1906 and March, 1907, the City of San Francisco built more than 5,610 'temporary' cottages. They were designed by the Army Corps of Engineers and were built by the carpenters union. The finished homes were painted green -- the same green used to paint the city's park benches.
Hurricane Katrina: 10 Great Ways You Can Help - By Don Hazen, AlterNet
As often happens in big disasters, huge enterprises like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and others get the bulk of the money raised (the Red Cross has already raised over $350 million). Sometimes these big operations do not have the nimbleness or the understanding of the local community to apply the aid in the smartest and most strategic way. That's when we have to trust the people we know, and the local grassroots groups that have been serving their communities for decades.