New Orleans Small Business Rising from the Ruins

As proposals for big-box retail projects mount in New Orleans, many small business owners who are returning to the city worry about the coming competition. A documentary is currently being filmed about the recovering city's business atmosphere.

1 minute read

April 25, 2008, 12:00 PM PDT

By Nate Berg


New Orleans is a city of unique culture and fierce loyalties to the local. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, locally-owned businesses led the return to neighborhoods throughout the city, joining residents in the expensive and risky rebuilding effort. Chain stores and restaurants, meanwhile, remain boarded up nearly three years later, counting rooftops and awaiting municipal subsidies.

Dana Eness, Executive Director of the Urban Conservancy, finds in the filming cause for both hope and concern.

"Hanson Hosein and his assistants have been touring the city with their cameras to find out how a wide variety of mom-and-pop businesses are faring in post-Katrina New Orleans. See a three-minute in-production preview on Hosein's Independent America Web log: http://www.independentamerica.typepad.com/."

"The clip includes comments from Edward Blakely of the city's Office of Recovery Development and Administration as he bicycles with Hosein through a Katrina-damaged neighborhood."

"Blakely tells Hosein that 'the pressure from the ordinary citizens' is to bring more big-box stores. Blakely concedes that big boxes may 'put these . . . little guys out of business,' but he insists that citizens he is hearing from say they're focused on their own rebuilding efforts and 'can't think about that guy's business.'"

Thanks to Dan Houston

Saturday, April 19, 2008 in New Orleans Times-Picayune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight