Friends in Virginia have been asking us how things are going in New Orleans. Is the city really coming back? Our answer is always a "yes" but with some qualifications, mainly that it’s a very slow process with many economic, political and bureaucratic roadblocks in the way.
We had the opportunity to see New Orleans in January, 2006 just five months after the Katrina flooding (some are referring to it as the "Federal Flood" -- see our earlier blog) and then to see it a year later when we returned for several months.
Businesses are reopening, homes are being gutted, raised and rebuilt, new homes are going up and public services are being restored. Here are just a few of the positive signs of the city’s rebirth.
–After months of debate, there is now in place a city-wide plan for rebuilding and a well-qualified professional--a redevelopment "Czar"--has been hired to implement the plan.
–The Army Corps of Engineers has been upgrading and rebuilding the levee system, although it still has a long way to go before it will fulfill a Congressional mandate to fully protect the city. There is growing support, including the Army Corps itself, for closing the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a waterway that contributed to flooding along the Industrial Canal.
–The funds Congress appropriated to help home owners rebuild are finally beginning to be allocated. However, at this point 19 months after the disaster only about 10 percent of the qualified applicants have received their grants for rebuilding.
–The city has restored most public services: visitors to the French Quarter are amazed at how clean it is now. Twice daily garbage pick up in the Quarter and twice weekly garbage collection in the rest of the city has made a big difference in how the city looks and feels.
–Many of the public facilities that were damaged in the flood are building rebuilt. For example, the police department’s crime lab was destroyed, thus slowing criminal indictments. The crime lab has recently been rebuilt.
–Although it faces a serious teacher shortage and not all of the city’s public schools have been reopened, a new system of closely monitored, high quality charter schools has been filling the gap.
–City Park, a beautiful, 1400 acre facility is being reopened mostly with volunteer labor.
And on and on it goes. We came home very optimistic about New Orleans’ future and hope to return at some point to continue helping its rebirth.
We had the opportunity to see New Orleans in January, 2006 just five months after the Katrina flooding (some are referring to it as the "Federal Flood" -- see our earlier blog) and then to see it a year later when we returned for several months.
Businesses are reopening, homes are being gutted, raised and rebuilt, new homes are going up and public services are being restored. Here are just a few of the positive signs of the city’s rebirth.
–After months of debate, there is now in place a city-wide plan for rebuilding and a well-qualified professional--a redevelopment "Czar"--has been hired to implement the plan.
–The Army Corps of Engineers has been upgrading and rebuilding the levee system, although it still has a long way to go before it will fulfill a Congressional mandate to fully protect the city. There is growing support, including the Army Corps itself, for closing the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a waterway that contributed to flooding along the Industrial Canal.
–The funds Congress appropriated to help home owners rebuild are finally beginning to be allocated. However, at this point 19 months after the disaster only about 10 percent of the qualified applicants have received their grants for rebuilding.
–The city has restored most public services: visitors to the French Quarter are amazed at how clean it is now. Twice daily garbage pick up in the Quarter and twice weekly garbage collection in the rest of the city has made a big difference in how the city looks and feels.
–Many of the public facilities that were damaged in the flood are building rebuilt. For example, the police department’s crime lab was destroyed, thus slowing criminal indictments. The crime lab has recently been rebuilt.
–Although it faces a serious teacher shortage and not all of the city’s public schools have been reopened, a new system of closely monitored, high quality charter schools has been filling the gap.
–City Park, a beautiful, 1400 acre facility is being reopened mostly with volunteer labor.
And on and on it goes. We came home very optimistic about New Orleans’ future and hope to return at some point to continue helping its rebirth.
This house, which is being built by Habitat for Humanity, is above the standing water line from Katrina.
Homes that were flooded need to be totally gutted . . .
down to the bare studs.
Many home owners are raising their homes in order to protect them and to qualify for flood insurance.
The Army Corps of Engineers has installed massive flood gates which can be closed if the outflow canals are threatened by a hurricane storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain.
The French Quarter has never been cleaner . . .
