According to Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Louisiana's recovery has reached the tipping point, setting 2008 up as the year New Orleans will truly come back.
"Officials from New Orleans gathered Tuesday at the Louisiana Recovery Authority meeting. They left very optimistic about the future.
City Council President Arnie Fielkow says 2008 will be 'the most important year in the history of New Orleans.' He told the LRA that's because 'people will make the decision either to reinvest in our community, or make the decision not to do so.'
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also addressed the board. 'We are at a tipping point ladies and gentleman. I think these funds are definitely going to help us move forward and accelerate our recovery,' he told the LRA.
Fielkow applauded what he says is the state freeing up nearly $300 million dollars for New Orleans recovery. 'The good news today is that we can now utilize these funds... to be able to instill the confidence that our citizens and our businesses so demand right now,' said Fielkow
Fielkow says this marks the start of a new era for post Katrina New Orleans. 'We are no longer planning in New Orleans. The planning stages have been completed. We are in the execution and implementation phase of our community now,'"
Read the full story: New Orleans officials: Recovery planning is over
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority