Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters

The Grenfell Tower tragedy was the worst residential fire in London since World War II. It killed seventy-two people in the richest borough of one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Like other catastrophic events before it and since, it has the power to bring about lasting change. But will it? The historical evidence is weighed against ‘lessons being learned’ in a meaningful or enduring way.

In an attempt to understand why, despite enormous efforts, we persistently fail to learn from...