Abstract
Severe hurricane disaster events can leave the most vulnerable and disadvantaged households of a community displaced and in limbo for several years following the storm. Long-term recovery coalitions and committees with roots in voluntary nonprofit and faith-based organizations are springingup nationwide to fill unmet needs of displaced households after local, state and federal agencies have completed their initial recovery missions. In South Florida, Broward County’s recovery experience following category 1 hurricane Wilma in 2005 demonstrated the valuable role that these coalitions  played in reintegrating displaced   households into strong, recovering communities.  However, scaling this success to deal with  severe and damaging storms that displace far more disadvantaged households requires a coordinated pre-disaster recovery planning framework. Long-term recovery coalitions, as currently structured, cannot design such planning frameworks.  In this article, we make the case for a more formal independent planning agency dedicated to integrating coordinated housing recovery scenarios and priorities into municipal comprehensive plans as they evolve.