Louisiana

Was pre-Katrina New Orleans unable to support its former population, and thus now -- as a smaller city -- better-positioned economically? Or is it in danger of losing its cultural identity without that population?

Noted L.A.-area scholar Ed Blakely helped Oakland and L.A. rebound from earthquakes; now he's turning to the resurrection of New Orleans. The Planinng Report features an interview.

In his new job as the executive director for recovery management in New Orleans, Ed Blakely brings decades of experience and a few potentially controversial ideas.

Findings from a recent planning survey contradicts the plan to rebuild the community from scratch.

As rebuilding continues in New Orleans, many homes are being built in the floodplain without raised foundations, leading many to believe that the tough lessons learned during Hurricane Katrina have already been forgotten.

Concerned that promised replacement housing will never materialize, displaced residents and low-income housing advocates are fighting the planned demolition of the city's public housing projects.

With federal aid money wasted or tied up in the bureaucracy, and post-Katrina recovery promises left unkept, New Orleans remains an "open wound" and many of its residents are suffering from homelessness and a lack of basic services.

Art critic Doug MacCash discusses everything NOLA with renowned architect and urban planner, Andres Duany.

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has appointed as the city's new recovery czar Edward J. Blakely, the man who played an instrumental role in recovery planning after the 1989 San Francisco Bay Area earthquake and the 1991 Oakland fires.

Travel writer Matt Gross reports on the state of tourism in New Orleans.

The demolition of New Orleans public housing, which many argue are superior to the New Urbanist style mixed-income communities that are slated to replace them, is being challenged by residents who believe they are being pushed out of the city.

Sluggish government response and a reliance on market forces have failed to resolve the housing crisis faced by thousands of Gulf coast residents, argues a recent editorial.

After spending 72 hours in New Orleans, Charles Shaw finds a city in "desperation."

A model home here that gives Katrina's displaced an alternative to trailer living is starting to take the country by storm.

In an effort to maintain their pre-Katrina quality of life, the St. Bernard Parish Council recently imposed restrictions on homeowners from renting to those who are not blood relatives. The Parish is now facing lawsuits from housing advocates.

This article from Governing Magazine looks at the planning process along the Gulf Coast as cities and towns look to rebuild, but struggle to decide what to rebuild into.

City leaders in New Orleans are looking to the stars of architecture to help recreate the city's all-but ignored riverfront at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The reconstruction of New Orleans is also reconfiguring the city's demographics.

The winning of a housing design competition sponsored by actor Brad Pitt end environmental non-profit Global Green USA demonstrates how eco-friendly architecture can remake New Orleans.