It’s been said before, but it’s worth repeating – the reconstruction of New Orleans is both a planner’s dream – and a planner’s nightmare. Even before the flood waters subsided, planners and architects from around the globe descended on the Crescent City to give their take on the road to recovery. Close to two years later, a host of plans lay in the wake of the constant ebb and flow of professionals in and out of the city. Local residents are exasperated with the proposed plans and the progress of the recovery. Meanwhile, the rest of the country has seemingly lost interest.
Recovery
Blakely Blasts New Orleans Recovery Process
A video interview with Ed Blakely, former New Orleans recovery czar, reveals some tensions with the city, its officials, and its people that hindered the recovery process.
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The Planetizen News Brief - 9/3/09
4:35 minutes (4.2 MB)
Creating a new New Orleans, getting on the BRT in Johannesburg, and finding value in parks -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Citizen Recovery Efforts Hit Government Barriers in New Orleans
When architects Anne Van Ingen and Wes Haynes set out to aid the New Orleans recovery effort by restoring a home in the Ninth Ward for low income buyers, they thought their work would be welcomed. But bureaucratic interference and misguided policies have turned a good deed into a nightmare, writes Roberta Brandes Gratz.
Rebuilding Slow in South Ossetia
Half a year after the area erupted in violence, the South Ossetia region of Georgia is struggling to rebuild.
International Herald Tribune
Recovery or Rerun?
A new government-sponsored watchdog website will allow citizens to track stimulus-funded projects. It's an effort to insure accountability. Neal Pierce wonders if that accountability will translate into smarter patterns of development.
Citiwire
Planners Need to Treat New Orleans Like Beijing and Dubai
This article from The New York Times contrasts the rapid development of cities like Beijing and Dubai, while New Orleans continues to struggle in its Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.
The New York Times
Hurdles and Speedbumps Slow New Orleans Recovery
One year after the city announced its broad redevelopment plans, many are unhappy with the rate of recovery in New Orleans.
The New York Times
Rebuilding New Orleans by Rebuilding the Education System
This report from NPR looks at the efforts of one educator to help rebuild communities in New Orleans by rebuilding the city's charter school system.
NPR
The Unified New Orleans Recovery Plan Nears Completion
Thu, 03/22/2007 - 06:49
As I said in my last posting, the main, if not the only, topic of discussion in planning circles in New Orleans these days is recovery planning from Hurricane Katrina. A year and a half after the storm, we are getting close to having a recovery plan. In late January the Citywide Strategic Recovery and Rebuilding Plan, otherwise known as the “Unified New Orleans Plan” (UNOP), was presented to the New Orleans City Planning Commission (CPC), of which I am the Chair. The CPC has held several public hearings on the plan and we have at least one more scheduled.
