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Is Duplicating New Orleans' French Quarter A Good Idea?

Posted by: Matt Baumann

19 July 2006 - 9:00am

Some say duplicating the French Quarter is a good idea, while others say it's not supposed to be that way. Either way, the debate whether New Urbanism design is good for the Gulf region continues.

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River Ranch, a newer residential development 130km away from New Orleans is at the center of the latest controversy. While its attractors feel that the project's emulation of the French Quarter's architecture, with its charm and easy livability, should be used as a model for rebuilding New Orleans.

"[Yet,] River Ranch has disturbed others who [see] it as the design equivalent of cubic zirconium, the epitome of what many in New Orleans hope the rebuilt city will never be: an imitation New Orleans, a pretty postcard version of a real city."

While some believe imitation to be the ultimate form of flattery, others describe it as a foolish attempt to replicate the past.

Some say duplicating the French Quarter is a good idea, while others say it's not supposed to be that way. Either way, the debate whether New Urbanism design is good for the Gulf region continues.

River Ranch, a newer residential development 130km away from New Orleans is at the center of the latest controversy. While its attractors feel that the project's emulation of the French Quarter's architecture, with its charm and easy livability, should be used as a model for rebuilding New Orleans.

"[Yet,] River Ranch has disturbed others who [see] it as the design equivalent of cubic zirconium, the epitome of what many in New Orleans hope the rebuilt city will never be: an imitation New Orleans, a pretty postcard version of a real city."

Source: New York Times, Jul 16, 2006
Full Story: Replica of New Orleans: A Study in Urban Cloning
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