Louisiana

As low-income residents in New Orleans begin to rebuild their homes, historic regulations are disrupting the process and driving up costs.

Though it is a National Historic Landmark, the Garden District of New Orleans never had official local historic recognition, leaving the city powerless to prevent demolition or renovation of historic buildings. Recently, the city gained that power.

Poor federal emergency planning; still-shattered public infrastructure; an over-commitment of National Guard equipment in Iraq; and an inadequately repaired levee system are all leaving New Orleans dangerously vulnerable to new storms.

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is considering testing its tour guides to ensure the accuracy of the city's rich history -- a big tourist draw and economic boon for the city.

Jonathan Demme's new documentary, "Right to Return: New Home Movies from the Lower Ninth Ward," shows us residents who have returned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Though a myriad of development plans have been announced, the slow recovery has put the future of many projects in doubt.

In the first of his postings for Grist Magazine, author Wayne Curtis sets the watery stage of his new home in New Orleans.

The Unified New Orleans Plan calls for a $3.5 million monument to pay tribute to the victims of Katrina and the celebrate the city's rebuilding -- but some are wondering if such a project should be a priority, or is even a good idea.

The plan's approval by the city planning commission comes along with criticism about its flaws and lack of funding.

While lower-class neighborhoods struggle to recover, an active civic organization is using land speculation and market forces to rebuild a neighborhood in New Orleans.

New Orleans black population has been more negatively affected by Hurricane Katrina than the city's white population, according to a recent survey.

The culmination of a major statewide planning effort -- the new long-term plan calls for communities to build compact neighborhoods and coordinate regional development.

Federally-funded home rebuilding programs in New Orleans are having trouble keeping up with the demand of grant applicants, and the governor has cautioned that the budget shortfall may be in the billions.

Engineers have unveiled a massive plan to let the Mississippi River flow out of several of its levees to reduce the amount of sediment that flows into the ocean. Proponents say the $50 billion plan would reclaim much of the land-building sediment.

Using a steel dock-like structure and blocks of Styrofoam, a Louisiana professor has designed housing that avoids flood-damage by moving with rising water.

Despite vastly higher levels of federal affordable housing tax credits awarded to Louisiana, developers are pulling out of projects because they can't make sufficient profits.

The newly released blueprint by Mayor Ray Nagin and Recovery Chief Ed Blakely may be the type of practical redevelopment plan New Orleans has been waiting for all along.

Google has replaced current maps of New Orleans with pre-Katrina satellite images on its Google Maps website.

Though homelessness had always been a problem in New Orleans, the issue has been amplified since Hurricane Katrina. Public officials and housing advocates are concerned about the lack of services needed to address the problem.

Citing that the most successful rebuilding efforts have happened without central government coordination, a recent column argues that the city's neighborhoods should secede and seize control of rebuilding efforts themselves.