The Remaining Vulnerabilities of Post-Katrina New Orleans:

1. The Remaining Vulnerabilities of Post-Katrina New Orleans: How Urban Sustainability Efforts Must Evolve December 13, 2012 Stephanie Heath, Matt Poland Ellie Tumbuan and Karina Zhang

2. Hurricane Katrina’s Effects • Intergovernmental Relations • Civic Engagement • Environmental Planning • Urban Planning • Conclusions Overview

3. Impacted nearly 93,000 square miles • Flooded 80% of New Orleans • Total of 1.5 million people displaced between Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama • $108 billion in total damage to U.S. Hurricane Katrina’s Effects

4. U.S. H.R. Findings: • Lack of coordination in declaring mandatory evacuation between federal, state and local authorities • Police lost all control and couldn’t coordinate with other law enforcement • Medical care and evacuation coordination failed • State and local govt. chose inappropriate shelters • Red tape for requesting help caused confusion and delay Intergovernmental Relations

5. Implicit Suggestions: • Consistent protocol across all levels for declaring mandatory evacuation • Planning the law enforcement response in coordination with state and national actors; determine in advance who is in charge and responsibilities of each entity • Interagency planning between New Orleans hospitals, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) and state officials to determine: • Clear roles and responsibilities • Where resources can be obtained • How to coordinate ongoing communication during a crisis • Coordination with private air transport Intergovernmental Relations

6. Implicit Suggestions: • Establishment of a regional shelter database and thoroughly vetted choices laid out in the local emergency response plan. • Local officials in the disaster response plan should know the procedures for requesting aid in advance and also establish working relationships in advance with the Louisiana State Emergency Operations Center and FEMA. Intergovernmental Relations

7. Other Suggestions: • Using “contingency federalism” as a guide – vertical and horizontal relationships that allow for flexibility and quick action when necessary • Strong mutual aid agreements with other states Intergovernmental Relations

8. What has New Orleans done to improve intergovernmental relations? • Has an Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness • Community Emergency Response Teams exist (without any details) • ??? Intergovernmental Relations

9. Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) • 5 months of planning, funded by Rockefeller Foundation, Greater New Orleans Foundation & Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund • Solicited citizen feedback on: (1) Future flood safety, (2) Rebuilding safe & stable neighborhoods, (3) Affordable housing, (4) Public services Civic Engagement After Katrina

10. 4 rounds of interactive meetings in 13 districts • Community Congress I: Hastily planned, poorly attended • Community Congress II: Well attended by 2,500 New Orleanians • Community Congress III: January 2007, presented UNOP (by this time, 4,000 total citizens across different cities in the region have participated in the CCs) • January 31, 2007: UNOP is submitted to NOLA Planning Commission Civic Engagement: UNOP Process

11. 1. Funding - Civic engagement must be funded for long term sustainability (nonprofit sector is optimal) 2. Reactive efforts --> Institution building for civic engagement orgs, venues 3. Reorient "Preparedness" to "Resilience" and "Most Vulnerable" to "New Majority" - ensure permanent inclusion of all groups 4. Recognition of Social Capital's role in resilience Civic Engagement: Recommendations

12. The restoration of New Orleans can become another disaster waiting to happen or a model of true model of sustainable development • Sea level is rising • Precipitation patterns are changing • Intensity of hurricanes • Energy costs are on the rise • City is continuing to sink Environmental Planning:Current Situation

13. The very technology (the levee system) that was created to protect New Orleans from devastation backfired: • Levees have contributed to the erosion of wetlands • This has removed a crucial buffer that once protected the area from hurricanes • Biologists call the wetlands the fastest disappearing land mass on the planet • This is due partly to levees and partly to man Environmental Planning:Levees and the Wetlands

14. Wetlands rank with rainforests in eco-logical importance: • They harbor plants and wildlife and function as natural sponges to buffer the coastlines • Louisiana Coast Area - Project for the wetlands surrounding New Orleans • This plan would have helped reverse the trend of continued wetland loss • Plan is in jeopardy due to shifting priorities • Focus is on rebuilding levees and pumps instead of restoring wetlands Environmental Planning:Importance of Wetlands

15. Part of a healthy local economy should be providing “natural capital” for the well-being of people: • Storm and flood protection • Soil formation • Nutrient cycling • Recreation and aesthetic services • Mississippi delta- includes New Orleans and is one of the most concentrated areas of natural capital in North America Environmental Planning:Natural Capital

16. Environmental considerations for rebuilding New Orleans in a sustainable way: • Let the water decide – avoid abrupt boundaries between deep water systems and uplands. • Restore natural capital and use resources that already exist • Use the highest standards of high-performance green buildings and a car-limited urban environment with high mobility for everyone • Rebuild the Mississippi basin to minimize coastal pollution and the threat of another catastrophic flood in the city proper • Farming practices will need to be shifted and adapted to be more sustainable • Rebuilding the “capital” of the city Environmental Planning:Recommendations

17. UNOP Strategic plan?? • Very little information about emergency preparedness Overall Assessment and Conclusions