An article in The Architect's Newspaper describes post-Katrina redevelopment plans and calls the city a lab for architecture and planning.
From The Architect's Newspaper:
"Construction that began a few years ago is now starting to finish up, while the city's new Mayor Mitch Landrieu has launched a program to instigate 100 city-initiated projects that will begin or even be completed in the next three years. In total, according to William Gilchrist, the city's Director of Place-Based Planning, over $13 billion in federal, state and local investments will go into effect. In many ways, said Gilchrist, the city has become a laboratory for new ideas in architecture and urban planning."
The ambitious plans have attracted a star-studded team of architects, development experts, and even Hollywood actors. Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation is "building contemporary-style, highly sustainable (from solar powered to rainwater harvesting) homes in the Lower Ninth Ward- the hardest hit of all of New Orleans' neighborhoods," according to Sam Lubell (author of the article). The hope, according to Lubell, is that a large portion of the projects are completed by the city's tri-centennial in 2018.
FULL STORY: New Orleans Rising

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
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Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
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Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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