Liz Koslov, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA Luskin and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, co-authored a New York Times opinion piece on the path forward after recent wildfires in Los Angeles. Koslov and co-author Kathryn McConnell of the University of British Columbia address questions about the wisdom of rebuilding and whether “managed retreat” from wildfire is even a realistic alternative. “We need a serious discussion of how to live with fire in this new era,” they write. The notion of “let it burn” is not a “realistic or humane response to the destruction of homes and communities — in either urban or rural places.” Retreat from fire risk is “a fantasy” and could, in some places, increase the danger, according to the scholars, who have published research on managed retreat from wildfire. What they do recommend is greater investment in preparing buildings as well as community-led experiments in new ways to protect neighborhoods.
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Environment and Sustainability, and Sociology
Liz Koslov is Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Environment and Sustainability, and Sociology at UCLA. Her research brings an interdisciplinary...
