Testing the Hypothesis 7A

1. The opportunity that I am pursuing revolves around the destruction of U.S. cities as a result of natural disasters.
2. Cities, in the United States, that have recently been destroyed as the result of natural disasters are repeatedly being rebuilt in a fashion that does not further protect cities and citizens from future disasters. This inability to change protocols on rebuilding recently destroyed cities comes from a societal inability to recognize that cities in danger of destruction need more advanced ways of protecting the land and the citizens that reside there.
3. Testing the who: People all over the country, whether it's the east, west, southwest, or midwest are consistently threatened by the possibility of a natural disaster occurring. That being said, the opportunity that I am targeting mainly revolves around the east coast, and parts of the southwest, and the effects that hurricanes and flooding have on different areas of our country.
Testing the what: How has the U.S. typically handled situations of natural disaster, such as after Hurricane Harvey, or Hurricane Katrina? What are some new ways to rebuild cities suffering from natural disaster, in a way that could better protect said cities in the future? What are the advantages and disadvantages of changing the way the United States rebuilds cities and provides future protections? Is it at all possible to really protect cities from natural disasters, and if not, what precautions can society take to limit the amount of times these disasters occur.
Testing the why: There will be some people that simply see natural disasters as an inescapable part of life, and those people will question the fact that precautions can be taken to assist those in need. There are also people that will be skeptical that a better way of helping rebuilding towns, and the people rebuilding their lives. Some will believe that the plans and guidelines already in place are in place because they are still the best way of helping. Finally, there will be people that question how possible it is to create new ways to better rebuild recently destroyed areas of our nation.
4. For the interview portion of this assignment, I chose to interview people that have homes in areas that could be threaten by natural disasters, whether that be somewhere along the coast, or elsewhere.
While some of the people I interviewed did have to live through some flooding, none of them had to rebuild their homes or completely rebuild their towns. That being said, the interview process was still incredibly helpful because after the process was completed, it became clear that there is an opportunity for growth in this area of our society. I would say that one of the biggest takeaways that I received from the interview portion of the assignment has to deal with the fact that flooding can occur in many areas of the U.S. without any major or dangerous storms present, and that the said flooding can still have a troubling impact on societies around the nation. It became clear that unless there is a huge storm or natural disaster approaching, that there won't be countrywide recognition of the problem. I also feel that ensuring the protection of towns and homes against flooding on a normal day can provide our country with a step in the right direction when it comes to protecting families and cities from larger looming problems, such as natural disasters.