Neal Peirce writes that there is a way to rebuild New Orleans in a responsible, sustainable way: make low-lying areas parkland, and build denser neighborhoods on higher ground. But there appears to be no political will to make it happen.
"What one sees, eight months after Katrina engulfed 80 percent of New Orleans, is neighborhood after neighborhood overwhelmed by mountains of debris, wrecked homes, buildings knocked off foundations, watermarks up to roof lines, holes in roofs where people chopped their way out. There are even lingering 'Possible Body' signs.
And the destruction isn't just in the Lower Ninth Ward, which has received most national attention; even sections such as Lakewood, with million-dollar homes, were heavily damaged..."
"...the Rand Corp. estimates that barely 50 percent of New Orleans' people are likely to be back in town by 2008. And there's a real question: Will a city government on the verge of bankruptcy be able to assure water, sewer and electric services to neighborhoods with just a scattering of occupied houses? The federal government is repairing the broken levees, but relying on levees in an intensifying hurricane cycle is a crapshoot at best."
Read the full story: New Orleans' throttled future
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Michigan Senate votes to revise 'lax' dam safety laws
A Bridge Michigan investigation found more than 100,000 Michigan residents live in the floodpath of a high or significant-hazard dam.
NYC’s landfills will soon overflow — expanding them invites health risks
In as little as 16 years, New York City will have to find new places to dump its trash.
This Boston neighborhood is filling its roads with obstacles — intentionally
Somerville is embracing ‘extreme street makeovers’ to make its roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
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Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello