[CPEO-BIF] A New Orleans neighborhood looks forward

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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LS



The First Freret Neighborhood Visioning Workshop
New Orleans, Louisiana
May 17, 2006
Lenny Siegel

The evening of May 17, 2006, while attending the Restoration 2006 
conference in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to participate in the 
Freret Neighborhood Visioning Workshop in New Orleans. The workshop, 
convened at the Samuel J. Green Charter School, was sponsored by 
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Neighborworks, and the 
International City/County Management Association - primary organizer of 
the Restoration conference. Approximately 75 people, including a handful 
of us outsiders, convened in what appeared to be the school's cafeteria.

The neighborhood is part of the way Uptown, roughly between the Garden 
District and Tulane University. The Greater New Orleans Community Data 
Center web site (http://www.gnocdc.org/orleans/3/64/people.html) 
provides neighborhood data from the 2000 Census, obviously collected 
before the Hurricane Katrina evacuation. It reports 2,446 people, 82.6% 
black, in 902 households. Talking to residents, however, I got the 
impression that the neighborhood is larger, and that it is more racially 
balanced. Slightly more than half of the workshop participants were white.

Driving through the neighborhood, it was easy to see that it is much 
better off than New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, which I  visited in 
February. (See "Six Months After the Storm" at 
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/SixMonthsAfter.doc.) Most buildings are intact. 
Not much debris remains in sight. The lights are on. There are people 
and traffic around.

People from the neighborhood told me that flooding, after Katrina, 
reached eight feet in some neighborhood streets, and some homes flooded 
to four feet. Many are built on elevated foundations, though it remains 
to be seen how many are three-feet high, as recommended by the latest 
flood insurance proposals.

Most important, the residents - and those at the workshop appeared to be 
somewhat representative - expect to return. Many already have, though I 
couldn't get a clear sense of the percentage. I believe that this 
expectation will be self-fulfilling: As evacuated residents see that 
neighbors and neighborhood businesses are returning, they too are likely 
to return.

Residents liked their neighborhood before Katrina, though it appears to 
have had its share of problems. They say they want the revitalized 
neighborhood to be "the same, but better." They want neighborhood 
businesses so they don't have to drive to buy groceries, get a haircut, 
or have their clothes dry-cleaned. They like their parks, churches, 
small businesses, and historic homes, but they expressed no confidence 
in the pre-Katrina public school system, which has not yet returned to 
the neighborhood. They hope the storms will lead to a total 
re-organization of the schools.

Significantly, both white and black residents said they value the 
racial, economic, and age diversity of the area. One called it a 
"gumbo." They value the mix of owned and rented homes, but some 
expressed concern about the renting of units that had previously been 
owner-occupied. They spoke openly about the need to overcome the 
region's legacy of racism. At the workshop, at least, both races felt 
comfortable exercising leadership.

Participants whom I talked to expressed mistrust for all levels of 
government, financial institutions, and rehabilitation contractors  - 
many of whom, they say, are exploiting elderly residents. They are 
frustrated because they can't get the "straight story" about their 
future. In fact, though they trust media such as the New Orleans 
Times-Picayune, they say that not even the award-winning newspaper can 
obtain the information residents need to decide their personal futures.

In less than two hours, residents only started to identify their common 
objectives and strategies. They talked about identifying block captains 
and establishing better ways to reach their absent neighbors. They 
agreed to meet again. At their facilitators' instruction, they 
identified potential sources of support, but it was apparent to me that 
young and old, white and black, these people have the smarts and will to 
take the leadership in bringing their neighborhood back - if the 
financial and political powers-that-be don't prevent it.

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

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