Higher Ground, Healthier, Denser Life In New Orleans?

Could forced relocation to safer ground improve the city's communities, or will its costs disproportionately impact the poor?

1 minute read

February 24, 2006, 7:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"At least in theory, a redistribution of population to available high ground is possible. Before the storm, some 460,000 people lived in New Orleans, which was continuing to lose population. After Katrina, the decimated city has only about 150,000 residents. Two years from now, 250,000 people may live in the city. Higher elevations would accommodate that population. Farley and others maintain that the lowlands should be returned to flood-absorbing swamps, or turned into greenbelts relatively impervious to flood damage.

Potentially, these denser, higher New Orleans neighborhoods (unlike many of its depopulated, pre-Katrina counterparts) could support more supermarkets, neighborhood stores and businesses. Social services would be easier to distribute; jobs would be closer. The need for automobiles would be reduced, a good idea in a town where some 20,000 people did not own their own car."

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 in The San Diego Union-Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

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?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Entrance to subterranean Hollywood/Vine Metro station in Los Angeles, California surrounded by tall apartment buildings.

Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access

A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.

15 minutes ago - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Yellow roadside sign with extreme heat warning: "Danger - Extreme Conditions! - STOP - Do not hike Jun-Sep - HEAT KILLS"

Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills

Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.

1 hour ago - Nevada Current

View of downtown Pittsburgh, PA with river and bridge in foreground at dusk.

Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units

Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.

2 hours ago - Axios