The New York Times has an interesting editorial on the rebuilding of New Orleans. Got me thinking…
So should New Orleans be rebuilt? I’ve wavered on this one. The pure pragmatist in me says this location should be let go. Then a much smarter pragmatist realized that the last thing anyone needs is that huge an expanse of land with old buildings and nothing else on it. Just as bad would just be a plowed off mass of nothing. None of that is cool.
But the question posed by the Times is whether areas that were hit hardest by Katrina–and would presumably be hit harder if another storm were to hit–should be rebuilt.
It’s hard to put on the pragmatist’s hat because I know too many people that are from that area. Too many would bean just one, but I know a couple of others. Until you’ve heard the way people talk about their homes in that area and their affection for that area, I don’t think you have a clear picture of all the relevant issues. The intangible concept of a home changes the way I feel about this.
But I don’t think it changes what I think. It seems totally irrational to rebuild something that’s in perpetual peril. Remember, emotions are irrational. That’s neither good nor bad in that context, but emotional decisions aren’t too good for public policy.
But here’s where things get bad–those areas are primarily populated by poor black people, and i’m not keen on their displacement. I’m not cool with most gentrification, and I was afraid that post-Katrina was going to become the ultimate example of gentrification. Instead of rich folks coming back to a couple of areas, there was a chance they could have taken the whole damn city and turned into something between Las Vegas and Shangri-la. That wasn’t too cool.
Is it any better to turn that into some sort of park that would help wiht drainage? That there’s a tough one. that would serve some practical purpose, but we’d still be dealing with displaced folks.
As petty as it sounds, I think this is what I’ve come up with–I’m only okay with folks not being allowed to move back to that area if regular rich folks don’t come up as a result. Of course someone’s gonna get paid for building this park or whatever, but I think it’s pretty clear what I mean. Even though I’m not saying it clearly.
This is just a no-win situation for everyone but friends of Bush and Cheney. Would I prefer black folks to live in the eye of hurricanes or would I rather see their homes erased?
I’m not too keen on either. So for now, I’m leaning toward the solution that makes the most sense.
14 thoughts on “Rebuild New Orleans?”
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you can’t run from weather and in louisiana, there’s pretty much no escaping a hurricane. let’s say these people don’t return to places that were hit the hardest…where do they go? and when their new “home” gets hit…where do they go? i’m not sold on the idea that another hurricane in the area would have the same results. if NO shouldn’t be rebuilt because of future hurricanes, lake charles shouldn’t either. in fact, we should just do away with the coast all together. from people i’ve talked to, i’d say that they would rather live in the eye of the cane than lose their homes. people are moving back now and i know of many who will be moving back later. dealing with hurricanes is simply a part of life in the state, it just seems that people care now. yes, katrina was the indirect cause of issues that were new to most of us, but most of those issues can be directly chopped up to negligence and incompetence.
That’s interesting at some points and absolutely nonsensical at others. Negligence was a significant factor I left out, and I’m seriously slippin there. I don’t know if that negligence will change considering I’ve heard nothing about getting rid of the corrupt bastards that have been in power. Moving on, to compare New Orleans to Lake Charles is a streeeeetcccch. The topological factors aren’t the same, I don’t believe; if they were, folks from Lake Charles would talk about it a little more, right? Further, I don’t get the “hurricanes are just a part of life” talk. Perhaps this is no different from Californians and earthquakes, but something about this feels different. If scientists have researched this and said the area is in legitimate peril, that’s of greater significance than that “life’s a bitch until you die” inclination that appears to be present. As for the question of where they go, I kinda said that’s the difficult part. That appears to be more of a question about homes than housing, though. Big difference.
you can’t run from weather and in louisiana, there’s pretty much no escaping a hurricane. let’s say these people don’t return to places that were hit the hardest…where do they go? and when their new “home” gets hit…where do they go? i’m not sold on the idea that another hurricane in the area would have the same results. if NO shouldn’t be rebuilt because of future hurricanes, lake charles shouldn’t either. in fact, we should just do away with the coast all together. from people i’ve talked to, i’d say that they would rather live in the eye of the cane than lose their homes. people are moving back now and i know of many who will be moving back later. dealing with hurricanes is simply a part of life in the state, it just seems that people care now. yes, katrina was the indirect cause of issues that were new to most of us, but most of those issues can be directly chopped up to negligence and incompetence.
That’s interesting at some points and absolutely nonsensical at others. Negligence was a significant factor I left out, and I’m seriously slippin there. I don’t know if that negligence will change considering I’ve heard nothing about getting rid of the corrupt bastards that have been in power. Moving on, to compare New Orleans to Lake Charles is a streeeeetcccch. The topological factors aren’t the same, I don’t believe; if they were, folks from Lake Charles would talk about it a little more, right? Further, I don’t get the “hurricanes are just a part of life” talk. Perhaps this is no different from Californians and earthquakes, but something about this feels different. If scientists have researched this and said the area is in legitimate peril, that’s of greater significance than that “life’s a bitch until you die” inclination that appears to be present. As for the question of where they go, I kinda said that’s the difficult part. That appears to be more of a question about homes than housing, though. Big difference.
I heard a geographer on the radio the other day, and he said that the low lying areas were not necessarily the poorest areas. There are areas inhabited by middle class Blacks (New Orleans East) and some White suburbs that are lower. I don’t think that we should look at the areas hardest hit by the storm and say those shouldn’t be rebuilt, because they are not necessarily the riskiest areas. What if the next storm is a little more west, then towns that are more vulnerable but were undamaged by Katrina would be destroyed.
If I thought that the areas not to be rebuilt or reinvested in, were chosen based on pragmatic concerns like–distance below sea level, etc, then I would not have much of a problem. The lower 9th ward is not the most vulnerable, but they are talking about leaving that area. That is not pragmatic. However, the home owners in these places should have the right to return or be compensated for their properties if the choose to rebuild in different areas.
I also think that they need to go back to the old style of building on stilts–the older homes survived the hurricanes because they were not slab on concrete.
I heard a geographer on the radio the other day, and he said that the low lying areas were not necessarily the poorest areas. There are areas inhabited by middle class Blacks (New Orleans East) and some White suburbs that are lower. I don’t think that we should look at the areas hardest hit by the storm and say those shouldn’t be rebuilt, because they are not necessarily the riskiest areas. What if the next storm is a little more west, then towns that are more vulnerable but were undamaged by Katrina would be destroyed.
If I thought that the areas not to be rebuilt or reinvested in, were chosen based on pragmatic concerns like–distance below sea level, etc, then I would not have much of a problem. The lower 9th ward is not the most vulnerable, but they are talking about leaving that area. That is not pragmatic. However, the home owners in these places should have the right to return or be compensated for their properties if the choose to rebuild in different areas.
I also think that they need to go back to the old style of building on stilts–the older homes survived the hurricanes because they were not slab on concrete.
I really don’t see why it would be wise to rebuild every neighborhood. That being said, it will probably happen anyway. For every neighborhood that isn’t rebuilt, there will be a near constant litany of complaints that somehow, someway, the people of that neighborhood are the victims of corruption, neglect, and general all around evil, whether it’s true or not.
In the end, the people making the decisions will probably take the path of least resistance and rebuild, and the people with the insurance checks, federal money, and the family history will decide to stay put.
You’re right that emotion is a bad way to formulate policy, but that’s probably what will happen this time around.
Why not let emotions dictate how we approach New Orleans? Conservatives have been doing it every damn day since 9/11 and have wasted mega assloads of money in the process. Why stop now?
Why not let emotions dictate how we approach New Orleans? Conservatives have been doing it every damn day since 9/11 and have wasted mega assloads of money in the process. Why stop now?
No, what Conservatives have done is play on the emotion of others as a way to try to drum up support for a long term policy goal. That’s entirely different. Not necessarily admirable, but different. The policy itself is not based on emotion.
Whether or not it’s safe…and I have to say, as someone who DID live in LA, you get used to the idea that yes, there is a chance that sometime in the future you will find yourself propped in a doorway or huddled under your desk(thanks public education system) trying to figure out when the ground will stop shaking and whether or not your underfunded school bothered to reinforce the roof. Doesn’t stop folks from moving to SoCal at all.
But I also understand your point- earthquakes are random; hurricane season is every YEAR…you KNOW there’s a good chance it’s going to be f***ed up every year, why rebuild?
Construction companies across the board are salivating at the thought of coming in and having long term contracts in the area…there’s a whole lot of money to be made in that arena, which is why they are going to rebuild as much as possible. The temporary inflation of jobs and money from these projects will lend itself to politicians being able to have photo ops congratulating themselves on the “economic recovery” of New Orleans.
Whether or not it’s safe…and I have to say, as someone who DID live in LA, you get used to the idea that yes, there is a chance that sometime in the future you will find yourself propped in a doorway or huddled under your desk(thanks public education system) trying to figure out when the ground will stop shaking and whether or not your underfunded school bothered to reinforce the roof. Doesn’t stop folks from moving to SoCal at all.
But I also understand your point- earthquakes are random; hurricane season is every YEAR…you KNOW there’s a good chance it’s going to be f***ed up every year, why rebuild?
Construction companies across the board are salivating at the thought of coming in and having long term contracts in the area…there’s a whole lot of money to be made in that arena, which is why they are going to rebuild as much as possible. The temporary inflation of jobs and money from these projects will lend itself to politicians being able to have photo ops congratulating themselves on the “economic recovery” of New Orleans.
“But I also understand your point- earthquakes are random; hurricane season is every YEAR…you KNOW there’s a good chance it’s going to be f***ed up every year, why rebuild?”
Umm…it’s been 40 years since New Orleans has been hit by a hurricane. The only reason most of the city flooded was the U.S. government designed and built the floodwalls improperly, so that instead of holding water in, they just fell over. They failed well before the amount of water reached the capacity they were “designed” to handle.
The feds just need to re-do this project PROPERLY this time, without resorting to cost-cutting methods that put all of our lives and homes in peril.
“But I also understand your point- earthquakes are random; hurricane season is every YEAR…you KNOW there’s a good chance it’s going to be f***ed up every year, why rebuild?”
Umm…it’s been 40 years since New Orleans has been hit by a hurricane. The only reason most of the city flooded was the U.S. government designed and built the floodwalls improperly, so that instead of holding water in, they just fell over. They failed well before the amount of water reached the capacity they were “designed” to handle.
The feds just need to re-do this project PROPERLY this time, without resorting to cost-cutting methods that put all of our lives and homes in peril.
Bomani, what is your take on Ray Nagin’s “chocolate city” comments?
It seems like pure and simple race-baiting to me. I think it is a very divisive way to try to rally your constituents, if that is what he is trying to do.
I can understand that he wants to stand up for poor blacks under his watch and make sure they are not hastily swept aside as the city is rebuilt.
But can you see anything positive coming from those comments?
I’ll get into this Wednesday.
Bomani, what is your take on Ray Nagin’s “chocolate city” comments?
It seems like pure and simple race-baiting to me. I think it is a very divisive way to try to rally your constituents, if that is what he is trying to do.
I can understand that he wants to stand up for poor blacks under his watch and make sure they are not hastily swept aside as the city is rebuilt.
But can you see anything positive coming from those comments?
I’ll get into this Wednesday.