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Consider Two Facts Before Rebuilding New Orleans

Posted by: Abhijeet Chavan

12 September 2005 - 6:00am

Klaus Jacob argues that we must face scientific facts before planning New Orleans' future.

"It is time to swim against the tide. The direction of public discourse in the wake of Katrina goes like this: First we save lives and provide some basic assistance to the victims. Then we clean up New Orleans. And then we rebuild the city.

Most will rightly agree on the first two. But should we rebuild New Orleans, 10 feet below sea level, just so it can be wiped out again?"

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All of that only scratches the surface of what's wrong with this study. The idea that complex urban development patterns and human behavior can be meaningfully studied according to one primary criteria — density — is wrong from the start.
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