Disaster, Vulnerability and Resilience
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this graduate-level urban studies course examining why disasters affect populations unevenly. It covers the social and political factors that create vulnerability to natural and technological hazards, including how settlement patterns, land use decisions, and risky technologies interact with existing inequality. Students study each stage of the disaster management cycle, from mitigation and preparedness through response and recovery, and learn frameworks for assessing how policy and planning choices distribute risk across communities. The course materials include readings, assignments, and a syllabus as published through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, free to access with no certificate offered. It suits students interested in planning, policy, or the politics behind who bears the cost when disaster strikes.