In his new job as the executive director for recovery management in New Orleans, Ed Blakely brings decades of experience and a few potentially controversial ideas.
"The man many hope will become a key leader in New Orleans' post-Katrina recovery spent Thursday packing up in Oakland, Calif., and preparing to start his new job -- determined, he said, to launch experimental rebuilding projects by summer to provide some relief to weary homeowners.
One possibility, said Ed Blakely, the city's new recovery czar: Let the city assemble vacant or blighted properties and offer them in swaps to homeowners -- preferably groups of neighbors -- who want to move out of sparsely populated neighborhoods and be closer to schools, shopping centers or other vital areas, while staying near their friends.
'What I'm suggesting here is not wide-eyed radicalism. It's been done before,' Blakely said. 'It works.' "
FULL STORY: New Nagin aide floats land swaps to aid recovery
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Atlanta Bus System Redesign Will Nearly Triple Access
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
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Smith Gee Studio
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City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
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