Getting "Smart" on Gulf Coast Reconstruction
Expert panel gathers at New Partners for Smart Growth Conference to discuss the progress along the Gulf Coast.

New Orleans, LA January 24, 2006 — Repairs continue on the levee that broke along the lower 9th ward when Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29. A barge remains in the lower 9th ward and it hasn't yet been determined if it was washed through the levee after the levee broke, or it caused the levee break. Photo by Greg Henshall / FEMA

As with any meeting on the built environment these days, there was a lot of talk at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference about rebuilding efforts along the Gulf Coast. The conference featured a panel that included Joseph Brown, FASLA, president and CEO of EDAW; Steve Villavaso, FAICP, president of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Planning Association; Tom Farley, MD, from the Tulane Department of Community Health Sciences; Laura Hall, principal of Fisher & Hall Urban Design; and Victor Rubin, director of research for Policylink--all weighing in on the progress along the Gulf. During the discussion, Brown noted that while the Gulf Coast hurricanes created a “crisis of a personal dimension that has not been seen in America,” they also provided “a lens on anything you can do with community planning,” reinforcing the paradox that, while an unprecedented tragedy, the Gulf Coast devastation also provides an unprecedented opportunity to remake an American city.

Although Brown said that safety for New Orleans should be the number one concern for planners, he was skeptical of the notion that a levee system providing category 5 protection is the only thing that could give the city adequate security. “We need to translate these things into technical truths,” Brown said. “There is no such thing as category 5 protection.” Brown said that creating category 3-plus protection was a viable solution and that the city could increase protection as time went on. He also noted that restoring wetlands around the city would reduce the need for engineered solutions. “We need to look very closely at footprints,” Brown said, “gigantic engineering solutions are not viable.”

“We need to look very closely at footprints, gigantic engineering solutions are not viable.” – Joseph Brown, FASLA, president and CEO of EDAW

Brown, who helped lead initial planning efforts in New Orleans with the Urban Land Institute, said the Bring New Orleans Back urban plan, drafted by Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC, followed up the ULI conference very well. He noted that the initial plan drafted during the ULI symposium called for a “sequence of renewal” while at the same time testing areas for pollution that could cause serious health effects. He added that EDAW would be working with WRT on the neighborhood plans for the Bring New Orleans Back commission.

Villavaso, who thanked ASLA and its members for their help in coordinating planning initiatives with FEMA and the Louisiana Recovery Authority, took it upon himself to be the optimistic member of the group. He made the case that, despite what has become accepted knowledge, Louisiana was in fact ready for Hurricane Katrina and was making progress toward smarter, more centralized development when the hurricane hit. He noted that Louisiana planners had already begun work on Plan Baton Rouge, which relied on smart growth concepts and had been “filtering down” to New Orleans, where local planners and architects held a smart growth conference. Villavaso also noted that Louisiana had recently enacted a law requiring planning commissioners to take four hours of training prior to taking office. Although he admitted that four hours was not a lot of training, Villavaso praised the measure for being built around a smart growth curriculum.

Conditions on the ground
When asked what the planning and rebuilding efforts meant for the people on the ground in the Gulf region, Brown said he believes those who live in areas where rebuilding is possible should begin doing so quickly in order to reestablish their communities. He added that while it may be frustrating for those living in areas where rebuilding is not possible to wait, “high-risk actions do not contribute to neighborhood viability.” He also said that FEMA is beginning to take a tougher stance with regard to where people can rebuild, asking the question, “Is rebuilding about letting people return to their homes, or is it about building a better region?”

Villavaso added that what people on the ground seem to need most is good information on what is going to happen—as well as a clear plan. Noting that the New Orleans City Council was discussing the possibility of drafting an alternative to the Bring New Orleans Back plan, he said he had definite concerns about having too many cooks in the kitchen. “People need one plan, and one set of rules,” Villavaso said. “You have folks in red-tag houses and areas that are subject to eminent domain. We need a clear message to give to those people.