Includes bibliographical references.

Part I. Diasters, vulnerability, and the global economy / Charlotte Benson and Edward Clay -- Natural hazard risk and privatization / Paul K. Freeman -- Natural disaster risk and cost-benefit analysis / Reinhard Mechler -- Globalization and natural disasters: an integrative risk management approach / Torben Juul Andersen -- Urban disasters and globalization / J.M. Albala-Bertrand -- Interdependent disaster risks: the need for public-private partnerships / Howard Kunreuther.

Part II. Cities and climate change / Anthony G. Bigio -- The resilience of coastal megacities to weather-related hazards / Richard J.T. Klein, Robert J. Nicholls, and Frank Thomalla -- Flood management and vulnerability of Dhaka City / Saleemul Huq and Mozaharul Alam -- Flooding in the Pampean Region of Argentina: the Salado Basin / Hilda Herzer -- Urbanization and natural disasters in the Mediterranean: population growth and climate change in the 21st century / Hans Günter Brauch -- Urban land markets and disasters: floods in Argentina's cities / Nora Clichevsky.

Part III. Social vulnerability to disaster impacts. Disaster risk reduction in megacities: making the most of human and social capital / Ben Wisner -- Living with risk: toward effective disaster management training in Africa / Prvoslav Marjanovic and Krisno Nimpuno -- Urban vulnerability to disasters in developing countries: managing risks / E.L. Quarantelli -- Natural disasters and urban cultural heritage: a reassessment / June Taboroff.

Part IV. Protecting critical infrastructure from disaster impacts. A new structural approach for the study of domino effects between life support networks / Benoît Robert et al. -- Mitigating the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in developing countries / Lamine Mili -- Damage to and vulnerability of industrial facilities in the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey, earthquake / Mustafa Erdik and Eser Durukal -- The behavior of retrofitted buildings during earthquakes: new technologies / Mikayel Melkumyan.