Cities and Volcanoes is a part of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience series, offering interdisciplinary explanations for the factors that transform volcanic crises into natural disasters. It takes advantage of recent exceptionally well documented volcanic crises to identify the complex mesh of physical, societal and human factors to pinpoint the roles of urban and rural planning in modulating their impact. Major recent eruptions covered in the book include 2010 Merapi, 2010 Eyjafjallajokull, 2004-2008 St Helens, and 1980-2014 Kilauea to show the convoluted and compounding interplay of economic, societal and human factors with geology, hydrology and meteorology that cause large disasters and outlines the planning solutions required for successful long-term hazard mitigation. This is the only book ever written to take a holistic perspective on volcanic crises and the planning of cities. It is an ideal primer for practical training and education programs geared towards community leaders, disaster managers, and others involved in risk reduction in volcanic areas as well as undergraduate and graduate courses in planning, physical sciences, social sciences, economics and engineering. ".