Nawlins

A large pile of debris from Hurricane Katrina burns in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Friday morning, Jan. 13, 2006. The fire has been burning since late Thursday night. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

U.S. President George W. Bush participates in a reconstruction efforts roundtable with small business owners and community leaders while visiting New Orleans, January 12, 2006. The president is touring the Gulf Coast region to witness efforts to rebuild the region after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many parts of the area last year. REUTERS/Larry Downing

The Slatin Report, the website/e-newsletter about the real estate industry, has an excellent piece about redevelopment issues in New Orleans, in the article "Preservation Row." The reality is that these issues are no less contentious than the issues around the recent rioting in French low-income communities. How do we deal equitably with rebuilding, people's fear, and experience, especially those of lesser means, with being taken advantage of when it comes to such issues (cf. the Environmental Justice Movement).

Based on Logan and Molotch, Larry Kipp writes about the use value of place:

[B]e it a home, an open space, or a neighborhood, is an ill-defined amalgam of practical utility and emotional attachments intimately bound together. A neighborhood not only represents a demographic and physical construct, but it also includes a viable social network and a sense of identity, security and trust. The use value of place is contingent then, on more than its material use, it also includes its social and psychological utility. These material and psychic use values combine to form the sense of "community."

And here is a link for the Action Plan for New Orleans: The New American City, which was just released by the Bring New Orleans Back Commision. As described by a story from the Associated Press:

This city is dreaming big as it puts together a blueprint for its rebirth in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, considering such audacious ideas as re-creating a long-gone jazz district, building a network of bike paths and commuter rail lines, and establishing a top-flight school system. In the coming days, beginning Wednesday, a commission appointed by Mayor Ray Nagin will unveil a grab bag of ideas that could become part of the master plan for rebuilding this devastated city, a task unparalleled in American history.

And see this article from the Times-Picayune, "4 MONTHS TO DECIDE: Nagin panel says hardest hit areas must prove viability city's footprint may shrink; full buyouts proposed for those forced to move. New housing to be developed in vast swaths of New Orleans' higher ground ."

U.S. President George W. Bush speaks on Gulf Coast reconstruction while visiting the region at St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi January 12, 2006. Bush is touring the Gulf Coast region to witness efforts to rebuild the region after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many parts of the area last year. REUTERS/Larry Downing

Students from the Academy of the Sacred Heart picket Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006, at Jackson Square in New Orleans. In the spot where four months ago President Bush declared that this city's passionate soul would return, hundreds of Catholic school girls donned life jackets, goggles and inner tubes Thursday to symbolize their flooded homes and protest the city's lack of defense against future storms. (AP Photo/Ben Margot).

New Orleans resident Calvin Alexander holds a sign during the public speaking portion of the 'Bring New Orleans Back' commission Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006, in New Orleans. The city is dreaming big as it puts together a blueprint for its rebirth in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, reinventing the structure of government, recreating a long-gone jazz district, laying out a network of biking paths and light-rail lines, among other audacious ideas, however, residents such as Alexander want more immediate action from the city, and some want to keep their land. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

FEMA photo of the Ninth Ward, New Orleans.

Index Keywords: New-Orleans