This book investigates the core question of how systemic social and economic inequalities transformed a natural weather event into a man-made catastrophe during Hurricane Katrina. Chester Hartman and Gregory D. Squires, both established scholars in urban planning and sociology, utilize a collection of essays to argue that the disaster was not an anomaly but the predictable result of long-standing racial and class-based marginalization in New Orleans. The authors provide a framework that links historical housing policies, urban development, and political neglect to the disproportionate suffering of the city's most vulnerable populations.

Experts and sociologists frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersectional nature of disaster management and urban inequality. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous, data-driven critique of institutional failure.