Catastrophes resulting from natural causes like earthquakes fires and floods have destroyed
significant parts of many cities in Europe and North America. Contributions to this volume
explore how cities experienced these disasters how cities coped with the emergency and how
they tried to make sense of what had happened. To illuminate common themes the book includes
examples from Poland France Italy Germany Finland Greece Great Britain and its Caribbean
colonies. Some cities never recovered while others managed to turn their physical destruction
into an opportunity for spatial economic and political reform. Catastrophes have played an
important role in urban history because they represent major turning points that shatter
conventional aspirations and open new avenues of development. Essays are presented with
abstracts in English French and German.
