JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Two months after a huge tornado split Joplinin half, the recovery here has barely begun, and the city remainsfocused on cleaning up massive mounds of debris. But local leaderssay Joplin and the neighboring village of Duquesne already faceanother question: How much to rebuild and how much to reinvent?

In Joplin, city officials, neighborhoods and families arebeginning to confront decisions that involve trade-offs of cost,speed, quality and uncertainty: whether to strengthen buildingcodes to produce better houses, but also some delay; to plot outmore parks and amenities that would raise the quality of life, butrequire detailed planning; to require new storm safety featuresthat would balance peace of mind against more expense for those ofmodest incomes.

Related: Joplin Aftermath: A Reporter’s Notebook and VideoDiary

Following the experience of other storm-damaged cities is difficult because of the scope ofthe damage in Joplin.

More than 7,000 homes were destroyed in the city of 50,000. TheMay 22 tornado killed 159 people, displaced 5,000 workers, smashed10 public school buildings and ruined 18,000 cars. The funnel lefta trail of damage nearly 14 miles after touching down.

Related: Joplin Tornado Aftermath: A PC360 Slideshow

Many residents still are negotiatingwith insurance companies or awaiting federal disasterassistance. A 60-day city moratorium on new construction, enactedin mid-June, generated protests that it would keep those ready torebuild now from returning to Joplin. The city announced Fridaythat it would start issuing building permits for a larger swath ofthe stricken area and already has issued nearly 1,700 residentialbuilding permits to repair tornado damage.

The short-term delay is designed to keep the focus on debrisremoval. City leaders want to get as much cleared as possible byAug. 7, when the federal government's share of the cost willdecline from 90 percent to 75 percent. That could mean an estimated$3 million a day.

One thing is clear: the scope of damage is making the rebuildingprocess difficult as city officials are literally faced with ablank slate. Before-and-after images below and on thefollowing pages illustrate the amount of debris that had to beremoved, and show the slow but steady progress Joplin is makingtowards digging out and rebuilding.

This two-photo combo taken with a fisheye lens shows a scenetaken on May 25, 2011, top, and again on July 21, 2011 showingprogress made in Joplin, Mo. nearly two months after a tornadodestroyed a large swath of the city and killed 159 people. In thetop photo, David Turner, from Waco, Tex., sorts through belongingsin a house occupied by his two sisters in a neighborhood now mostlycleared of debris. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

This is another two-photo combo that shows a scene taken on May23, 2011, top, and again on July 20, 2011. In the top photo, LauraVanzant looks for her dog at her home that was destroyed by thetornado and is today cleared of debris. (AP Photo/CharlieRiedel)

In the top photo, Anita Stokes salvages items from her home,which today stands cleared of much of the tornado debris. Thistwo-photo combo scene, taken on May 23, 2011, top, and again onJuly 21, 2011, shows the progress made in Joplin, Mo. nearly twomonths after a tornado destroyed a large swath of the city andkilled 159 people. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

This two-photo combo shows a scene taken on May 28, 2011, top,and again on July 21, 2011. In the top photo, Patrick O'Banionsalvages items from his devastated home in a neighborhood nowmostly cleared of debris. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

In this July 21, 2011 photo, a worker walks among a pile ofdebris at a landfill in Galena, Kan., where some of the two millioncubic yards of tornado debris have been hauled from nearby Joplin,Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

In this July 21, 2011 photo, another worker unloads rubbleat a landfill in Galena, Kan., where the majority of Joplin tornadodebris has been hauled. Two months after a tornado destroyed alarge swath of Joplin and killed 159 people, cleanup and rebuildingrebuilding efforts are taking shape across the city. (APPhoto/Charlie Riedel)

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