Opinion: Lesson from Houston and New Orleans: Listen to engineers and urban planners about building in low-lying cities

To the editor: Having been a member of the Urban Land Institute team that helped New Orleans rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it seems like déjà vu all over again in Houston. (“For years, engineers have warned that Houston was a flood disaster in the making. Why didn’t somebody do something?” Aug. 29)

As in New Orleans, so too in Houston, engineers and urban planners have sent warnings for years about the dangers associated with building near sea level or on a flat flood plain absent proper drainage, foliage, zoning controls and open green space. The strongest pushback to the Urban Land Institute’s rebuilding plan for New Orleans had to do with creating flood-mitigation measures in the lowest-lying neighborhoods that may impede development or redevelopment.

This issue, along with stronger land-use zoning controls in Houston, needs to be part of the recovery and rebuilding dialogue as climate change implications become clearer in cities such as Houston and New Orleans.

Philip S. Hart, Los Feliz

..

To the editor: The Houston flood is a prelude to what Southern California can expect in a major earthquake in the region.

It will soon be a good time to revisit what to expect when the Big One hits and how residents will be the initial rescuers in the first days. I know I’m thinking about earthquake preparation more, and there could be interest by other readers as well.

Mark Harmel, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook