The end or a new beginning for N.O? (New Orleans: 2011, pre-k)

[miserylovesco.]

As an outsider who moved to NO I've seen a lot of things that lead me to believe that if the crime is controlled, the city will totally flourish.

People who came to fix it tell their friends and they come to visit and it does a number on them just as it did to us.

Mix that with the born and bred locals and thats a breeding ground for a new dense population.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Drouzin

As someone who has been through Hell and back over Katrina, has fought tooth and nail to rebuild and lives above sea level, I ask you to remember this lecture on your opinion of the dislocation of a group of heart sore, weary people who have been damaged by this storm when a disaster happens in your state.

The "let's not rebuild New Orleans/People who live below sea level have no common sense" lectures serve no purpose here except to upset those of us who have put our hearts and souls into rebuilding our homes and businesses.

One thing, too, that the armchair quarterbacks forget when they lecture us about New Orleans being below sea level is (1) New Orleans has been around for centuries, and (2) had the Corps done its job and taken care of its levees, Katrina would have been way less significant than it was.

[electric_lady]

If the levees had been taken care of, flooding would not have been nearly as bad, therefore Katrina would have had less effects on NOLA.
And as for the argument about not living places where natural disasters could occur, I suggest you take a look at the geography of the United States. If you had your wish, everyone should move to Michigan and Wisconsin which have the lowest annual costs of natural disaster response than anywhere else. Let's move every one out of the plains states and Texas (tornadoes), the areas prone to flooding on the Mississippi and many other rivers (see what's going on in Illinois right now), everyone in California (earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires), everyone on the east coast (hurricanes), everyone in Florida (tornadoes, hurricanes) and the Gulf coast (hurricanes) and the mid South (tornadoes).
That would leave a nation with no major port cities. Use some intellect.

[Miami305Kid]

Originally Posted by Drouzin

As someone who has been through Hell and back over Katrina, has fought tooth and nail to rebuild and lives above sea level, I ask you to remember this lecture on your opinion of the dislocation of a group of heart sore, weary people who have been damaged by this storm when a disaster happens in your state.

The "let's not rebuild New Orleans/People who live below sea level have no common sense" lectures serve no purpose here except to upset those of us who have put our hearts and souls into rebuilding our homes and businesses.

Do people in New Orleans still need help rebuilding houses? because I would love to do habitat for humanity or something like that there

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Miami305Kid

Do people in New Orleans still need help rebuilding houses? because I would love to do habitat for humanity or something like that there

Absolutely. The sheer scope of the destruction is something many don't grasp until/unless they come to New Orleans. Even today, parts of Lakeview, New Orleans East, the lower 9th Ward, and the like are ghost towns.

[Drouzin]

Originally Posted by Miami305Kid

Do people in New Orleans still need help rebuilding houses? because I would love to do habitat for humanity or something like that there

Habitat for Humanity is very active here, as I imagine they are in other places like those who were recently flooded out up north. IMO they are an excellent group to work with from what I've seen here. I've also been impressed with the work from AmeriCorps and various church groups.

I'd also like to mention the awsome ppl from Michigan State University who helped me gut Mom's house! It would have taken me 6 years to do her's alone. I won't even mention how long it took me to do mine.

[Bluesbabe]

[quote=Miami305Kid;4346465]You can't just move the entire city of N.O into northern Louisiana. Also the city was founded in the 1600's people didn't have the science we have today otherwise you're right they prolly would have built it somewhere else. Also many people refused to leave city because they were poor and couldn't afforrd it or they were old people/disabled people who couldn't just leave everything they worked for in their life.[/quote

NOLA's first 200 years were built on higher ground. The lower 9th Ward, which should have been left alone as flood-plains, was added much much later.

I don't know what happened to all the money donated for Katrina relief (no one seems to know), but there was probably close to enough to help fund levees like those in Denmark/Holland (can't remember which it is). A very lost opportunity here.

[High Springs Gator]

Originally Posted by BRMan

And the Hispanic laborers and entrepreneuers who came after the storm will likely stay

Are you referring to those who are legal, or illegal. I would assume many legal Hispanic workers would want to stay.

[jpruett]

Originally Posted by BRMan

No, but just about every part of the US has some risk, be it tornadoes, earthquakes, forest fires, blizzards, and so forth. In New Orleans' case, the city has been around for hundreds of years. And the original development involved only building near the river (where the natural levee was). However, in the late 1800s, the city expanded inland and swamps were drained. So it's those "new" parts where you hear that NO is below sea level.

Brman-please don't tell that houses today could actually be sitting on swamps! Okay that freaks me out a little bit, but I agree with your post. If we move to La, yes I might deal with hurricanes but I will be leaving tornados right> hey do you guys get a lot of tornados like Arkansas does? I live on the New Madrid fault line too right now. There are always possiblities of natural disasters no matter where you live.

[jpruett]

Originally Posted by electric_lady

If the levees had been taken care of, flooding would not have been nearly as bad, therefore Katrina would have had less effects on NOLA.
And as for the argument about not living places where natural disasters could occur, I suggest you take a look at the geography of the United States. If you had your wish, everyone should move to Michigan and Wisconsin which have the lowest annual costs of natural disaster response than anywhere else. Let's move every one out of the plains states and Texas (tornadoes), the areas prone to flooding on the Mississippi and many other rivers (see what's going on in Illinois right now), everyone in California (earthquakes, mudslides, forest fires), everyone on the east coast (hurricanes), everyone in Florida (tornadoes, hurricanes) and the Gulf coast (hurricanes) and the mid South (tornadoes).
That would leave a nation with no major port cities. Use some intellect.

What are the Corps going to do about levees there now?