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.
"During an address last summer to a Central City citizens group, Blakely, a native of San Bernardino, Calif., advocated that the leader of New Orleans' recovery should have no local ties. An outsider, he argued, would be less likely to be influenced by historical, cultural and political factors that can sway decisions of local residents on issues including which areas, if any, should be off limits to rebuilding."
"'Everyone should be allowed to rebuild,' Blakely said at the time. 'But that doesn't necessarily mean everyone should be allowed to rebuild in exactly the same place they built before,' he said, noting that property rights derive not from individuals but from the government."
"Currently the chairman of urban and regional planning at the University of Sydney, Australia, Blakely said at a City Hall news conference that he has reviewed many of the preliminary neighborhood plans and is prepared to begin weaving them into a 'common framework' when he reports for work full time in January."
FULL STORY: N.O. recovery chief chosen
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