Louisiana

Shotgun Homes, New Orleans

New Orleans Mayor Announces Five-Year Affordable Housing Plan

Faced with increasing numbers of residents more than 50 percent of their income on housing costs, the mayor of New Orleans has announced his intentions to build or preserve 7,500 affordable units by 2021.

June 23, 2016 - Gambit

Clear-Sky Flood

Welcome to a Changed Climate: It Even Floods When it's Sunny

A new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documents the increasing frequency of nuisance floods and "clear-sky flooding."

June 11, 2016 - USA Today

New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina

New Flood Maps Downplay Risks in New Orleans

Recently released flood maps created by FEMA for the city of New Orleans are receiving criticism for being 'overly optimistic' when it comes to risks posed by hurricanes and rising sea levels.

June 3, 2016 - The New York Times

C.J. Peete Public Housing, New Orleans

Reintegrating Ex-Convicts Means Giving Them a Place To Live

The New Orleans Housing Authority has approved reforms to policies on public housing for ex-convicts in an attempt to stem homelessness among the newly released and to foster better reintegration.

May 24, 2016 - The Nation

New Orleans Doors

New Orleans Public Housing Opens Its Doors to People With Criminal Records

The Housing Authority of New Orleans has approved a new policy on criminal background checks that will remove the ban on residents with criminal records.

March 31, 2016 - The Times-Picayune

Modern Tram Proposal Taking Shape in Baton Rouge

The Baton Rouge tram, as the city is describing its proposed transit project, now has a preferred route and is ready to proceed to the final stages of environmental review.

March 11, 2016 - The Advocate

Big Transit Happenings Expected for the Sun Belt in 2016

A streak of landmark years for public transit in Sun Belt cities from the West Coast to the Florida Panhandle will continue in 2016.

December 27, 2015 - The Urban Edge

New Orleans Residents Seeking Less Density From the Zoning Code

A zoning controversy in a neighborhood in New Orleans has locals questioning how well the city's new Comprehensive Zoning Plan reflects the city's Master Plan.

November 14, 2015 - The Lens

Northbound Amtrak

Louisiana, Gulf Coast Push for New Passenger Rail Service

A new passenger rail line between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is just one of the links being proposed along the Gulf Coast.

November 7, 2015 - The Advocate (Louisiana)

Shotgun Homes, New Orleans

New Orleans Holding Out Hope HOME Program is Spared in Budget Fights

With Congressional budget negotiations ongoing in Washington, New Orleans home builders, policy makers, and low-income residents are hoping that the HOME Investment Partnership program comes out unscathed.

October 29, 2015 - The Times-Picayune

FEMA Trailer

The Katrina Cottage Legacy

The New Urbanist Katrina Cottages initiative for the Gulf Coast appeared to be a failure but their legacy lives on in the SmartDwellings and in the Tiny House movement.

September 20, 2015 - Original Green

Marohn Debates O'Toole

Charles Marohn, known as a reformed traffic engineer that launched Strong Towns, recently debated Randall O'Toole, known as the anti-planner. Recommended for understanding the conflicts that arise on the right side of the political spectrum.

September 17, 2015 - Strong Towns

Hopes for Restoring New Orleans-Florida Amtrak Service Pinned on Transportation Bill

Included in the draft version of the DRIVE Act: funding to study the restoration of Amtrak's Sunset Limited route along the Gulf Coast until Hurricane Katrina.

September 1, 2015 - The Hill

'New Orleans Saved Itself': Cutting-Edge Community Planning Post-Katrina

Ten years ago, a number of architecture firms went to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for a humanitarian "experiment"—rebuilding part of the underserved Lower Ninth Ward as an innovative, LEED Platinum, affordable community.

August 28, 2015 - The Planning Report

New Orleans Streetcar

Two Narratives Collide in Post-Katrina New Orleans

“A narrative of rebirth, reform and success that coexists with a narrative of stasis, failure and unrealized dreams.”

August 28, 2015 - The New York Times

Evacuation

What We Didn't Learn From Katrina

Cities are immensely complex self-organizing systems, not mere top-down designs—but they do need top-down interventions in strategic places. Unfortunately, we still have inadequate models and tools.

August 28, 2015 - Michael Mehaffy

The 1989 Roots of Louisiana's Transportation Funding Mess

Incomplete projects proposed in the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development plan have saddled Louisiana with increasing debt and less money for maintenance.

August 13, 2015 - The Advocate

Desert Road

Restoring the First Cross Country Interstate in the Southern States*

Partly absorbed by 1-10 and party given over the ravages of time—the Old Spanish Trail was the first to highway to connect the East Coast to the West Coast through the southern states.

August 9, 2015 - Atlas Obscura

New Orleans Aerial

New Orleans Public Housing in Decade-Long Stall

In the aftermath of Katrina, President Obama's Choice Neighborhoods initiative promised thousands of new affordable units. But so far the Housing Authority of New Orleans hasn't proved up to the task.

July 6, 2015 - Next City

Record Environmental Settlement Reached in 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill

While a judge must approve the historic $18.7 billion settlement reached July 2, the United States and the five Gulf States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas have agreed to the settlement, along with BP.

July 6, 2015 - USA Today

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.