Louisiana

All of Canal Street's red streetcars were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but up to nine restored streetcars may be in service by the end of the year.

Once New Orleans comes to terms with the fact that it is a shrinking city, the city's culture and geographic location can help bring it back.

New Orleans residents this Election Day will decide whether to grant the "force of law" to the city's master plan, making it more difficult for officials to make amendments and exceptions for specific projects. The master plan has yet to be written.

Following the Ikea model, home builder John Sawyer is bringing a new -- and cheaper -- process to affordable housing in New Orleans.

New Orleans homeowners have begun receiving letters from the Army Corps of Engineers demanding that they remove objects that obstruct nearby levees' rights of way, including fences and trees. If history repeats itself, this may get messy.

The wetlands and barrier islands of Louisiana -- nature's way of absorbing tidal surges during tropical storms -- are almost gone. We may not be able to restore them.

As land continues to disappear along the Gulf Coast and hurricane damages increase, many are beginning to reconsider whether to rebuild or retreat.

The economic crisis is the latest hindrance to stall rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. From issues of boosting homeownership to restoring tourism, the Big Easy's road to recovery is looking bumpier than ever.

In post-Katrina New Orleans, a fine line exists between razing potentially deadly structures, and harnessing a zeal for wholesale redevelopment.

Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, public transit in New Orleans has struggled to rebound. With few riders, service expansions can't be justified. But with diminished service, fewer view transit as a viable option.

Two years after the program's authorization, 500 cottages intended for residents displaces after Katrina have still not been built. Meanwhile, they have cropped up in Mississippi, which faced less damage overall.

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.

Housing -- or the lack of it -- remains a major issue in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Steven Bingler of Concordia Planning and Architecture discusses the process and thinking behind the Unified New Orleans Plan, which engaged large numbers of citizens to plan the recovery of their neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

People of color are finding it more and more difficult to secure housing in New Orleans, as new and old forms of housing discrimination -- and overt racism -- are conspiring to keep them out.

With Hurricane Gustav reaching land Monday, nearly 2 million people have been evacuated from coastal Louisiana. The evacuation is being hailed as a vast improvement from the effort three years ago during Hurricane Katrina, but some residents remain.

Three years later, Hurricane Katrina has had lasting effects on New Orleans. It's also taught America some lessons about how to react to natural disasters -- and how not to.