Mark Alan Hughes asks who has the power to decide on rebuilding plans for New Orleans: former or returning residents, federal policymakers, local officials, or all taxpayers?
"...the plans for rebuilding the Gulf Coast beg the question, who decides? Who pays is also important. And so is who gets paid."
....But does it matter to the rest of us? Why does an ex-resident have a say in the rebuilding when we don't even know if that resident plans to return?
Shouldn't they have to demonstrate an intention to return in order to claim a vote? Otherwise they've become just another new resident of Houston or Phoenix, and have moved away from decision-making in New Orleans....
Wait a minute. How did "we" and "us" get into this debate? Is it because the $50 billion already authorized and the $200 billion already suggested is coming from the national treasury?
Does our money nationalize the decision-making here? Have we bailed out New Orleans, or bought it? Doesn't this whole unfolding set of decisions really amount to eminent domain as imagined in the Supreme Court's recent Kelo decision?"
Thanks to Margy Waller
FULL STORY: A NAGGING NEW ORLEANS QUESTION
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service