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One of the (many) travesties of post-Katrina is that we (collectively) did not seize the opportunity (caused by crisis / disaster) to make the US Gulf Coast a model for 'green development' for the globe. Now, the "affordable" housing should not just be affordable in terms of purchase or in terms of rent, but also affordable in terms of operating and ownership. Building Green creates a more affordable Cost to Own -- for the individual and society.
Sadly, not holding my breath, but still hoping for sensible building along the Gulf Coast.
Striving to be Energy Smart to Energize America.
by A Siegel on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 07:54:51 AM PDT
It's easy to make fun of celebrities for poking their noses in policy debates, but Brad Pitt actually put $5 million of his own money and pressure behind the "Build Green" movement in NOLA. Check out this piece from yesterday's Guardian and visit Pitt's Make It Right campaign site.
by PolicyLinkDan on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:04:50 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
The Times has had excellent coverage on NOLA in general. I disagree with the requirement to raise the houses up to a certain level above future flood waters. Shouldn't the city be able to look forward confidently to its levees not failing again?
by NYFM on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:18:13 AM PDT
Building on piers is part of the different architecture of NOLA. The piers serve a purpose of raising houses enought to allow "some" over topping of the levees. The silt produced from the water conteracts the natural subsidence. Only because the developers came in and built ranch houses because they were more profitable that NOLA is experiencing this problem. Building codes need to be changed but the construction lobby will scream.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:38:41 AM PDT
I'm usually very skeptical of this stuff but if you vouch that he's doing it right here, than bravo Brad Pitt. I'll have to rent "Fight Club" again...
www.DMIBlog.com Politics, Policy and the American Dream
by DMIer on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:26:22 AM PDT
but thank you for the links / info.
by A Siegel on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:29:09 AM PDT
and Marsalis and Connick Jr. and their support for these architectural endeavors.
On one hand it is fantastic that they care and are using their celebrity to bring attention and action to the important and crucial issue of housing in their beloved city. But their focus has been on new housing and frankly, there are some areas of the city (mostly outlying) that should not be built on anymore and returned to marshland.
I do like that Pitt's group is working in the context of new, exciting designs and not historicist reproductions in areas that having no remaining fabric.
That being said, the existing, historic fabric of NOLA is strong and unique and there are so many homes and other buildings that could be renovated and restored for move-in, keeping the special, irreplaceable design and spirit of the city alive. What may look to an untrained eye as a candidate for immediate demolition could easily be a beautifully restored Italianate shotgun.
For the possibilities of restoration of damaged homes, take a look at the website of the Preservation Resource Center, a leading group in the restoration of the city through direct help to homeowners.
Preservation Resource Center NOLA
The arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice - MLK
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:57:47 AM PDT
that the Musicians' Village supported by Connick and the Marsalis family is located in a lower-risk area. I know it is pretty near the French Quarter, which we know survived very well. The houses are built 5-1/2 feet off the ground.
I do see the need for the Village in order to keep as many musicians in the area as possible before they drift away permanently to other parts of the country.
It will never be NOLA again without the music.
The truth always matters.
by texasmom on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:05:31 AM PDT
It is ultimately people and spirit that make a neighborhood and the music needs to be played and enjoyed again from a front porch.
I was mostly coming from a professional point of view that while new is needed in wiped out places like the Lower Ninth or the part of the Upper Ninth that the Musician's Village is in, focus should also be put on restoring exisiting housing instead of seeing blighted buildings as eyesores ready for the bulldozer. It's rare to find a building so bad off that it can't be restored in some way. And it is usually more cost-effective which is a very powerful argument in its favor.
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:24:06 AM PDT
and believe that new construction will not replace the character and spirit of the original buildings. Maybe this is where private initiative works best - each rehab will have its own unique problems and solutions. I don't think that is something a bureaucracy will be able to handle.
by texasmom on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:43:26 AM PDT
The problem is clear title. LA operates under the French law of forced heirship. Families have owned the properties for over 7 generations. Where do you start and who pays? Personally, I have inherited several properties of which I am trying to clear title. This is costing me money and time and then I have the expense of rennovation. I do not want to go into debt, nor do I know what the future holds for NOLA. The private sector needs some type of incentive or maybe the plan is to just rot so the developers and politicians can benefit.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:52:00 AM PDT
Good old Napoleonic law. My husband did his first year of law school at Loyola and I work with land titles - thankfully, not often in Louisiana!
I wish you luck in clearing your title. Do you have anyone helping you?
by texasmom on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:59:21 AM PDT
My uncle got power of attorney after the death of my grandmother prior to Katrina. My sister and I are requesting he now account for all assets, which I do believe he squandered so now we inherit the property for our portion. This consists of a shot gun double, one half which is ready to rent and the other side which requires major work. In addition there was a "camp" in Slidell which is now just a peice of marsh, as Katrina blew the building away. There was no insurance because this type of property was prohibitively expensive to insure, so you just took your chances. Now of course, tax payers supplement insurance for the wealthy that build McMansion in vulnerable areas.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:00:02 AM PDT
The public housing is garden apartments made of plaster, concrete, stone and tile. Products that just need to be washed down and rennovated. They would make great housing for the people who make NOLA run (police, fire, teachers, hotels) and close to the downtown area so you can bike, walk or take bus. Muscian's Village is in the Upper 9 close to the river. These areas would not have flooded in the houses except for the failure of the FEDERAL levees. Some flooding is beneficial and is why houses are on piers and we all have white shrimp boots.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:47:53 AM PDT
You will have to convince Lakeview and Old Metairie that their basin property is worthless, then the rest of the metro area will cooperate. Instead, the local government is trying to find all kinds of ways to accomodate these areas. Pump to the river, steeped, terraced homes and chainwalls that require building code changes - instead of encouraging relocation via purchase of the thousands of undamaged homes that are for sale.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:42:28 AM PDT
Lakeview is all but abandoned yet those homeowners are not demolishing, selling and moving on. They are resolutely stubborn in their inaction, which no doubt reflects their conflicted feelings about their (former?) city. No one in Old Metairie is hearing the worthless argument, you are right. Perhaps because they are white, they are given a pass and deference.
Also among areas that probably do need to be released back to nature include the sliver of 1960s homes between I-10 and the lake, just east of the Industrial Canal, south of the lake airport: Seabrook. Problem is, it's an upper middle class black neighborhood and those are exactly the people we need to see come back to the area.
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:04:21 AM PDT
Has a old map of all of the ridges, railways, canals, bayous and basins. The rebuilding should be modeled on the "natural" lay of the land. Lakeview and Old Metairie would be less vulnerable if they were required to build like the waterfront homes in Madisonville. Old Metairie is already connected to a playground and golf course and could easily become green drainage space=water retention pond. In fact, I read in the TP today that JP purchased apartments and they are forcing people out. The vacant land will become part of a playground. No housing, but playgrounds and using tax payers money to accomplish more homelessness. I just dread Jindal coming into office.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:06:21 AM PDT
Every Katrina evacuee that I spoke with in the year after the storm blamed Blanco and Baton Rouge for the problems more than they did Nagin or the feds. I'm sure there's plenty of blame for everyone, however.
But what is being anticipated with this new, young Republican governor? Is NOLA even on his map?
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:32:21 AM PDT
He met with Bush yesterday, I assume to sell LA out of all of her natural resources (oil, gas, water, food). He will move as much as he can get away with to Baton Rouge and turn NOLA into Disney land. Blanco actually has an above 50% approval, so a lot of what you hear is propoganda repeated by idiots. Look, the local governments were as much Katrina victims any any citizen.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:47:54 PM PDT
I wondered how much of the Blanco hate was real or just repetition of what frustrated, disconnected people had heard through the grapevine and taken as gospel. Thanks for your response.
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 12:57:56 PM PDT
the systematic effort by BushCo to place all the blame for Bush Administration failures during Katrina on Gov. Blanco--a spin machine which made Blanco extremely unpopular and caused her to decide not to run for re-election, resulting in regime change in Louisiana, see Louisiana's Relationship From Hell.
Don't miss my new blog! "We are all New Orleans now."--Barbara O'Brien
by Louisiana 1976 on Wed Dec 05, 2007 at 05:57:17 AM PDT
You are so right about rebuilding Green. The town in Kansas that was destroyed by a tornado is committed to rebuilding an entirely green community. The Mayor is adamant about it which goes to show that without strong leadership, developers will rule.
Affordable? A friend of ours is going to build spec houses in one of the larger Nebraska communities. He told us that they would be "low income" housing starting around the $100,000 level. I was shocked.
"Man's life's a vapor Full of woe. He cuts a caper, Down he goes. Down de down de down he goes.
by JFinNe on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 08:36:41 AM PDT
Unfortunately, all over construction costs have gone up a ton since the 2005 hurricanes and with a little help from this selfish Administration. I work a lot in east Texas and after Rita our construction bids were coming in at 30-50% higher than what was budgeted pre-Hurricanes. Materials prices are just universally high, copper is out the roof, concrete even is higher. Lumber has come down a bit, but old growth for restoration is still higher than what was considered normal. Restoration is seen, correctly, as green/sustainable building.
[Three years ago I had one neighbor who melts PVC piping to get to the embedded copper. The local environmental control officers have been on him for years. Now he has two other cohorts. That is one toxic smell, but the prices for their efforts are growing that cottage industry.]
Labor can be the same cost for green as with standard construction except in the case of special assemblies. Labor costs were still very high in NOLA a year ago, don't know what it is now locally.
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:10:11 AM PDT
The VA and Charity hospitals only flooded in the basements, yet they want to tear them down, sell the property, buy more property and build new. That is not green/sustainable building, it is rape of the tax payers to the benefit of the crony construction industry.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:55:43 AM PDT
It is amazing to me how quickly people want to tear down before pricing the cost-benefit analysis of restoration. Very little can't be restored, certainly these very solidly built hospitals can be.
by Ripeness Is All on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 10:05:46 AM PDT
I do believe it was done and found to be cheaper to restore. But, the crony crooks in the construction business do not make as much money. The whole construction trade needs to be revamped with green incentives starting with the restoration of NOLA.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 11:09:00 AM PDT
You are talking town vs major city. NOLA is like the tower of babel, everybody has their own agenda.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:53:25 AM PDT
NOLA has all of the natural resources (sun, river energy, water, fishing/hunting, easy growing gardens etc.) to lead the way. Those of us who grew up in NOLA in the 50's and 60's remember how to conserve and live self sufficient. Unlike other cities, NOLA did maintain local ownership of restaurants, groceries, farms, small businesses. We need to start building on that and block the corporations. The Vietnamese Community in NOLA east are building an urban farm.
by chigh on Tue Dec 04, 2007 at 09:34:32 AM PDT
wide narrow
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