After Katrina: Rebuilding Opportunity and Equity Into the New New Orleans

Posted by on November 24, 2006

After Katrina: Rebuilding Opportunity and Equity Into the New New Orleans, by Margery Austin Turner and Sheila R. Zedlewski; visit http://www.urban.org/publications/311406.html to read the full report.

In the months since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, shock has given way to deep concern about what to do now, next, and down the road to bring back this unique city to social, cultural and economic health. Many of New Orleans’ problems, which?to varying degrees?afflict other U.S. central cities, predated the storm. Widespread poverty, a failing public education system, low wages, and a weak tax base are just some.

The first challenge in bringing back the city is taking account of the unprecedented magnitude of the upheaval caused by the compounded pre-existing and storm-related problems. The second, feckless without the first, is seizing opportunities to make New Orleans more livable and equitable than it was before the disaster. This must involve applying useful knowledge and experience from other cities at other times. Because researchers at the Urban Institute are equipped to do both and eager to help decisionmakers and citizens integrate and sort through their options, we have produced this essay collection.