Neoliberalism, INGO practices and sustainable disaster recovery: A post-Katrina case study

This case study of a post-Katrina community-based action research project conducted in partnership with an international non-governmental organization (INGO) sought to understand the extent to which practices facilitated sustainable recovery from disaster. Findings include three major problem areas: (i) participation; (ii) capacity building and (iii) race/racism. The author posits that the neoliberal climate in which INGOs operate enables practices that perpetuate injustice and argues for different directions for sustainable disaster recovery and social justice.