Chapter 1: Introduction

The events of the past few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to illustrate the fact that disasters lead to disparate outcomes. In the two years following the publication of Disaster Recovery Through the Lens of Justice the Field of Emergency Management, scholars and practitioners in emergency management and related disciplines concerned with disasters, have begun to talk more about the need to minimize inequity. However, this growing awareness is not necessarily coupled with the changes to the laws, regulations, and processes needed to truly change outcomes. Smaller jurisdictions, rural jurisdictions, undocumented families, renters, and others still face additional challenges to recovery. One illustration of this is the case of El Portal in Florida.