Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the US Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita

Since Katrina and the levee failures devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, the world has witnessed catastrophic earthquakes in Haiti, China and New Zealand, floods in Pakistan, and the tsunami that struck Japan. Closer to home, tornados destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri. These large–scale disasters place new urgency on understanding the lessons learned post–Katrina. Dr. Allison Plyer, editor of “Resilience and Opportunity,” and several contributing scholars introduce this new book from Brookings Institution Press.

Q&A: Do you consider the failure of the New Orleans levee to be a disaster or an opportunity?

Question by Me, Too: Do you consider the failure of the New Orleans levee to be a disaster or an opportunity?

A noted economist stated that Katrina “did more to solve the problems in New Orleans than anything else could.” Another political personage stated that, while man could not solve the problem of New Orleans, “God did!”

By this, they were talking of the dispersal of a million poor Blacks gathered into one area, with high crime rates, dilapidated public housing and all of the problems associated with poverty. So, the question is, could the delay in helping these people return to New Orleans be connected to the “opportunities” these people discussed? Since the public housing has been torn down and new housing for the poor almost nonexistent in New Orleans, do you think this delay has been deliberate? Will the poor Blacks of New Orleans ever be able to return to their city, or will opportunists take advantage of this prime real estate and change the face of New Orleans forever?

Best answer:

Answer by jrldsmith
It was a wakeup call that the city is below sea level and didn’t need to be there in the first place.

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