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Forget The Controversy -- New Orleans Recovery Is Model City Planning

Posted by: David Gest
Thanks to: Neal Peirce
23 January 2006 - 8:00am

Neal Peirce argues that despite negative reports in the press, the Katrina rebuilding process is shaping up to be a superlative planning effort, a unique opportunity to rid New Orleans of corruption and involve more citizens.

"Suddenly, there's been relief from the old, everything-for-sale Louisiana political game -- a process that for generations repelled good city planning by way of constant sell-outs to special interests."

"How? Desperate for recovery, post-Katrina New Orleans welcomed visits and counsel from a cross-section of America's best urban thinkers -- a blue-ribbon panel of the Urban Land Institute, officials of the American Planning Association and others. And leaders actually listened."

Attorney and historic preservationist William Borah "credits Paul Farmer, executive director of the American Planning Association, for telling New Orleans a sober truth Borah's preached for a lifetime: the city's master plan must have the force of law, or under-the-table deals will vitiate all the best development plans. And that's just what the report now recommends: a legally-enforceable master plan."

Full Story: NEW ORLEANS: PLANNING -- AT LAST?
Source: National Academy of Public Administration, January 22, 2006
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