It’s Getting Hot In Here

Two years ago Hurricane Katrina woke people up to the vulnerabilities caused by the disparities of race and class in the United States as well as the vulnerabilities caused by government incompetence at many levels. In many parts of New Orleans, people are still living in a desperate situation. Although there are signs of revival, a crisis of drowning and displacement in September 2005, has evolved into a crisis of homelessness, unemployment, violent crime, and un-recovered insurance claims. It is a city in need of deep investment in infrastructure and community resources. It was frustrating to hear from people when I was there how millions of dollars of aid was in limbo because the city hadn’t made a decision on what to do about the Lower 9th Ward, the area of the city hit hardest by the hurricane and flooding. There were rumors about building a golf course or upscale condo complexes or a giant casino.I haven’t been able to find what the latest plans for the 9th Ward are, but came upon an interesting article about a project Brad Pitt and others are doing called Make It Right. The project is intended to spur rebuilding of homes in the Lower 9th Ward through investment in 150 green homes. Although the green building project with green design guru William McDonough got me fired up when I read about it this morning, I was a little surprised to see how the designs looked compared to the shotgun homes I saw during my visit:

Even still, I’m excited to see a forward-thinking initiative like this making progress and hope it continues.