New Orleans

1. Earlier in the week, the Post ran an AP story, "Ninth Ward Fairly Sound, Study Says," subtitled "Planners Find Much of Area Can Be Rebuilt Without First Demolishing It," which reported that contrary to previous reports, most of the Ninth Ward, the hardest hit from levee breeches as a result of faulty construction challenged by Hurricane Katrina, is recoverable. From the article:

Only about 20 percent of Ninth Ward residents have returned home, the survey found. It cited bureaucratic and financial hurdles. "That data shows that it can be rebuilt, and rebuilt in a cost-effective way. What is lacking are the resources," said Andrew Rumbach, a Cornell planner.

Many people in the Ninth Ward did not have flood insurance, and government rebuilding aid has been slow in coming. A lack of schools, day-care centers, businesses and public services, as well as high rents, are also keeping people away.

Of course, there is the issue of contraction--with my urban planning hat. Can all of New Orleans be rebuilt, given its weak economy, and the continued leakage of residents and businesses out of the city and out of the region.

(Also see this article from the New York Times, "Lessons for Homesick Evacuees on How to Be Houstonian." From the article:

Hurricane Katrina evacuees take note: You’re not in New Orleans anymore. It’s time to “think like a Houstonian.” That is the message from two displaced New Orleanians in a lighthearted new video prepared by Houston social agencies to help survivors of the 2005 hurricane find work and establish new roots here in the nation’s fourth largest city.

Video: Think Like a Houstonian)

Demolition of stained glass window, St. Frances Cabrini Church. Photo by David Gregor.

2. From Aimee Charbonneau, Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans:

Subject: Historic District Landmarks Commission Agenda - Gentilly properties

The following properties will be heard before the HDLC at 9:30 a.m., Friday, Jan 12. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

*5500 Paris Ave.** **-NOMINATED LANDMARK-* Request to address the Commission on the matter of St. Frances Cabrini Church.

Index Keywords: historic-preservation; urban-revitalization