Walgreens kills neighborhoods

Walgreens at Carrollton and Earhart
Originally uploaded by Editor B.

Through an odd set of circumstances, I've been consulted some about a situation in NW New Orleans, an area that I happened to sample when I was there last month, because I took the wrong bus...

A couple blogs are focusing on that area, Northwest Carrollton and The Third Battle of New Orleans and one of the big issues is Walgreens and how they've held some property and not done squat with it for seven years. Flickr photographer Editor B has some great shots of some local protests about Walgreens' inaction.

The residents want a grocery store, preferably a Trader Joes or some such (now I happen to think that's not likely, but they aren't the first people to ignore my analysis....). The area had a store of a regional grocery chain that went out of business some time ago. (Remember that way before Katrina, New Orleans had experienced serious decline due to suburban outmigration and industrial consolidation and decades of government corruption.)

This entry South Carrollton/South Clairborne Walgreen's Redevelopment - One Neighborhood Citizen's Thoughts covers the issue pretty well.

Editor B shows more photos, with a bit more explanation in his own blog, b.rox.

I keep encouraging them to contact Blair Kamin at the Chicago Tribune, since Walgreens is based in Chicago. There is a great story here, as these entries make clear.

Index Keywords: urban-revitalization