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Multifamily Trends - November/December 2005 - From ULI

Rehousing New Orleans: First Steps

Even as the waters of Hurricane Katrina are being pumped out of New Orleans, it is time to begin planning the rebuilding of this world-renowned American treasure—or at least planning how to plan its rebuilding. But, in the heat of the moment, many are already rushing to rebuild. Donald Trump, for instance, is boasting that he can break ground on a new office building within the month, while others are calling for the immediate construction of thousands of new homes to replace those lost. If any of this could be done—which it cannot—it would be nothing but another disaster for the city. Hard as it is now to have patience, time is needed to decide how to plan the rebuilding, who is going to do it, and who will oversee it. After all, even after the fourth anniversary of 9/11, the long-planned new towers for ground zero are still only on paper.

Before New Orleans can be rebuilt, there is a seemingly endless list of environmental and engineering hurdles to clear first. Has the environment of the whole region been contaminated, and, if so, what will it take to clean it up? Will the levees and the delta be rebuilt, and if so, to what level of protection? In what condition are New Orleans’s infrastructure, water and sewer systems, and housing?

Once these questions are answered, and assuming they lead to a decision to rebuild the city’s flooded areas (by no means a sure thing at this point), it will take time to consider how to replace the housing. But how much housing will be needed for the new New Orleans, once a city of 500,000?

Larry Simons, a former homebuilder and the federal housing commissioner during the late 1970s, a position in which he was responsible for a federal housing effort three times larger than today’s (as well as being responsible for providing emergency shelter for victims of hurricanes), started by asking about the future economy of the city. “Somebody has to determine the function of New Orleans for the future,” he said. “We’re certainly going to preserve the port’s function—it’s the most important southern port we have. From that starting point you then ask, what else is New Orleans going to be? A tourist destination? What about areas such as education and health care? You have to start with the jobs and the economy. Starting from the emotional part of what it means to the people is the wrong way. Whoever takes responsibility for the planning has to take the economy as the starting point.”

But who will take on this responsibility? National, state, and local politicians have been jockeying for position, power, and money since Katrina passed on to the north, and will continue to do so through the decades it will take to rebuild the city. To minimize the inevitable political conflicts, Simons says that “Congress [should] enact a special regional redevelopment authority.” There are many precedents for the powers such an authority would need, such as planning, financing, contracting, partnering with the private sector, and eminent domain.

“It would be like a huge urban renewal authority,” he adds. “Think of rebuilding New Orleans like a large urban renewal project. The key will be the leader to head it. Another big question will be the board of directors. You need one that’s small enough to be effective and large enough to include all interests—federal, state, and local governments; the community; and the private sector.”

Will the federal government step up to create such an authority? Other national governments would—the Thatcher government created the London Docklands Development Corporation in 1981 to redevelop southeastern London, now the largest urban renewal project in the European Union. There is a time and a place for a strong governmental role in urban redevelopment; the alternative is chaos, endless political fighting, and the creation of an ugly and unlivable city, not one that honors the grace, beauty, and heritage that were the best of the old New Orleans.

John McIlwain
ULI Senior Resident Fellow and ULI/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing