After the Storm: A great American city replans and rebuilds
Aspiration
Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans with devastating effect at daybreak on August 29, 2005. It has been Goody Clancy’s great privilege, beginning in 2006 and continuing over a period of eight years, to work with the people of New Orleans to replan and rebuild their city.
The aspirations of the New Orleans community post-Katrina were never in doubt— restore the city’s unique culture and quality of life while creating a place that would be:
- Stronger economically
- More resilient environmentally
- More equitable socially
Realization
New Orleans has made great strides to meet the challenges it faced following Katrina. The planning processes in New Orleans resulted in thousands of engaged citizens working in partnership with community organizations, foundations and institutions, and business and governmental entities at the state and federal level to plan for the city’s future.
Our work with the New Orleans community began in 2006 through our involvement in the city’s recovery plan—the Unified New Orleans Plan—continued with development of the city’s long-term comprehensive plan, Plan for the 21st Century: New Orleans 2030 and related rezoning initiative, and included master planning for the Claiborne Corridor.
Unified New Orleans Plan—assessing the damage
In the aftermath of the storm, Goody Clancy planners worked intensively with thousands of citizens in districts across New Orleans to create a recovery plan.
Plan for 21st Century New Orleans: New Orleans 2030
As recovery progressed, we worked with the City of New Orleans to craft a long-term plan for its future.
The community engages
The Goody Clancy team helped facilitate the most comprehensive and inclusive process of public discussion in city history, engaging every community and neighborhood.
Enhancing the Neighborhood Fabric of the Claiborne Corridor
The Livable Claiborne Communities Study linked an analysis of alternatives to the I-10 urban highway viaduct in the center of New Orleans with an integrated community revitalization plan for the surrounding neighborhoods.
Livable Claiborne: Putting the plan into action
The study included robust public participation and was guided by community goals. By fall of 2013, the city had appointed two people to staff a newly created Livable Claiborne Communities Initiative to begin coordination and implementation of the study’s recommendations.