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 / Reinhar d Mechler -- Globalization and natural disasters: an integrative risk m anagement approach / Torben Juul Andersen -- Urban disasters and global ization / J.M. Albala-Bertrand -- Interdependent disaster risks: the ne ed for public-private partnerships / Howard Kunreuther.

Part II. Cities and climate change / Anthony G. Bigio -- The resilie nce of coastal megacities to weather-related hazards / Richard J.T. Kle in, Robert J. Nicholls, and Frank Thomalla -- Flood management and vuln erability of Dhaka City / Saleemul Huq and Mozaharul Alam -- Flooding i n the Pampean Region of Argentina: the Salado Basin / Hilda Herzer -- U rbanization and natural disasters in the Mediterranean: population grow th and climate change in the 21st century / Hans Gèunter Brauch -- Urba n land markets and disasters: floods in Argentina's cities / Nora Clich evsky.

Part III. Social vulnerability to disaster impacts. Disaster risk re duction in megacities: making the most of human and social capital / Be n Wisner -- Living with risk: toward effective disaster management trai ning in Africa / Prvoslav Marjanovic and Krisno Nimpuno -- Urban vulner ability to disasters in developing countries: managing risks / E.L. Qua rantelli -- Natural disasters and urban cultural heritage: a reassessme nt / June Taboroff.

Part IV. Protecting critical infrastructure from disaster impacts. A new structural approach for the study of domino effects between life s upport networks / Benoãit Robert et al. -- Mitigating the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in developing countries / Lamine Mili -- Da mage 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 M elkumyan.