Architects, Planners Eager To Reinvent New Orleans

"The breadth of the devastation makes New Orleans an irresistible palate for urban planners, who see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvent a major city, something akin to arriving in Chicago after its Great Fire or San Francisco after its Great Earthquake.

The plans being tossed about range from the modest and safe -- nascent discussions among city officials about offering citywide wireless Internet service -- to the seismic and controversial: bulldozing the flood-prone lower Ninth Ward, a bastion of New Orleans African American culture, and turning it into a park that could absorb floodwaters."