Environment
Reconstructing Hurricane Harvey to Find Its Overlooked Victims
Will Houston’s data-driven approach help it distribute recovery funds more fairly?
A little over a year after Hurricane Harvey barreled through Texas, cities are still rebuilding. Recovery efforts have lagged in many poorer communities, in part because of the uneven allocation of federal recovery funds favoring smaller, often wealthier neighborhoods. But Houston is now trying to break from that pattern with a data-driven effort to send federal aid to the vulnerable populations that need it most.
The first step is to reconstruct Hurricane Harvey.