The master plan will replace an outdated, complex zoning law and address urban housing, wetlands preservation, and transit, among other things. New Orleans is finally "poised for sustained growth," according to the plan's lead consultant.
"Among the ideas for the master plan and revised zoning law presented by Dixon and Larissa Brown of Goody Clancy and Jack Swenson of Camiros, a Chicago planning firm focusing on zoning issues, were:
-- Using incentives, disincentives and regulations to promote infill construction and repair of blighted buildings in old neighborhoods that have lost population and need more density to support expanded services and shopping opportunities. "The city's future does not lie anywhere in being more like a suburb," Dixon said.
-- Promoting the development of 'neighborhood centers' that can combine schools, health clinics, shops, recreational attractions and social services.
-- Focusing on redevelopment of major vacant or underused "opportunity sites" such as the former Lindy Boggs Medical Center, the Earhart Boulevard corridor, the former Kennedy High School site and the large vacant tract at the upriver end of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center."
FULL STORY: City Planning Commission gets look at New Orleans' first master plan

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