<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Plans afoot to rebuild New Orleans
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Adam Blenford
BBC News
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- E IBYL -->
They say New Orleans will never be same again. And they mean it, too.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Vast areas of New Orleans may be reclaimed as natural wetlands
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Even with vast swathes of the city still swamped by Hurricane Katrina's toxic melange, plans are afoot to use billions of dollars in federal aid to construct a new city with an old heart.
In the hurricane zone, the historic French Quarter survives largely intact.
General Andrew Jackson still rides his horse from a plinth in Jackson Square. Other key areas built on relatively high ground have also escaped major damage.
Now property developers, urban conservationists and city planners are expecting schemes that once competed for funding to find a new lease of life.
Politicians hope to have New Orleans back on its feet within two years. Those who left the city will be showered with generous incentives to start again.
When they return, they are likely to find their old home a vastly different place.
"We are certainly going to rebuild," Michael Olivier, Louisiana's Secretary of State for Economic Development, told the BBC News website.
"But this is building anew, and sustainable growth principles are going to be very important to how New Orleans and the river region is rebuilt."
New approach
Initial fears that the city might simply be abandoned have eased: damage to the vital river port was minimal, and large areas of suburban New Orleans did not flood at all.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
In New Orleans' French Quarter, the streets are dry but empty
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Instead, support appears strong for a substantial rethink of the city's urban geography. Impoverished areas wiped out by Katrina may not simply be rebuilt as they were.
That may please the US public, 54% of whom now think flooded areas of the city should not rise again, according to an Associated Press opinion poll.
"Building New Orleans where it is was a poor choice to begin with, but it was a poor choice made for a reason," Bruce Sharky, professor of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University, told the BBC News website.
<!-- S IANC --><!-- E IANC -->"But politically, sociologically and emotionally, abandoning the city entirely is not on the cards."
<!-- S ILIN -->Map of central New Orleans
<!-- E ILIN -->
New Orleans expanded in rhythm with trade along the Mississippi River, where much of the nation's grain is shipped out, and much of its oil shipped inland.
But it was the sweaty heart of the Big Easy, not the low-rise suburbs wracked with poverty and ravaged by Katrina, which brought people to the city.
Now the hope is that the French Quarter's lure of history, food and music can become a catalyst for regeneration.
Plans are being drawn up to retain historic areas of the city while rebuilding residential areas on higher ground and regenerating old wetlands to reduce the risk of future flooding.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
</TD><TD class=sibtbg> If you don't install some type of substantial hurricane protection along the Gulf coast it's going to be very hard to re-assure people
Al Naomi
US Army Corps of Engineers
<!-- S ILIN -->Nature's revenge?
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->French Quarter keen to open
<!-- E ILIN -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->High quality transport links and projects to improve the quality of life and reduce poverty in New Orleans are high on most agendas. Bringing business and tourism back to the region is equally important.
There is a sense of optimism, but one tinged with caution.
Mr Olivier, the politician, is bullish about the future. Bruce Sharky, the academic, is hopeful, but nervous that a "unique opportunity" could go to waste.
Others share his fear.
"We need to be very careful about rebuilding very low areas of the coast. Nature has told us that we should not be living there," Larry Schmidt, Louisiana director of the Trust for Public Land, told the BBC News website.
Before the storm, Mr Schmidt's national, non-profit organisation co-operated with the US Army Corps of Engineers on a plan to regenerate a mile-long strip of post-industrial riverfront, at a cost of up $85m.
With good management and a clear chain of command, Mr Schmidt, who lost his own home in the storm, believes Katrina could offer a "once-a-century chance to build a city of the future".
Rebuilding the walls
Yet little of consequence will be built in New Orleans without extensive input from the US army engineers who build and maintain the city's flood defences.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Slowly, the filthy water is being pumped out of New Orleans
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Despite the failure of New Orleans' levees to hold back the water, little blame has been attached to the engineers, who have faced ever-tightening budgets in recent years.
Before the hurricane, the engineers had begun considering how to provide New Orleans with protection from a category-five hurricane. They also voiced fears about the increased rate of coastal erosion.
A preliminary study was completed, but a more detailed survey - which usually takes five years - needs to be carried out before any final plans are laid. The engineers expect to be asked to speed up their work.
"If you don't install some type of substantial hurricane protection along the Gulf coast it's going to be very hard to reassure people," said Al Naomi, senior project manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Louisiana. "There were some very sound military and economic reasons for the city to be where it was. "Now the policy-makers have to decide whether those reasons are enough to keep it there."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4229878.stm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBYL --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=416 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>By Adam Blenford
BBC News
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- E IBYL -->
They say New Orleans will never be same again. And they mean it, too.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Even with vast swathes of the city still swamped by Hurricane Katrina's toxic melange, plans are afoot to use billions of dollars in federal aid to construct a new city with an old heart.
In the hurricane zone, the historic French Quarter survives largely intact.
General Andrew Jackson still rides his horse from a plinth in Jackson Square. Other key areas built on relatively high ground have also escaped major damage.
Now property developers, urban conservationists and city planners are expecting schemes that once competed for funding to find a new lease of life.
Politicians hope to have New Orleans back on its feet within two years. Those who left the city will be showered with generous incentives to start again.
When they return, they are likely to find their old home a vastly different place.
"We are certainly going to rebuild," Michael Olivier, Louisiana's Secretary of State for Economic Development, told the BBC News website.
"But this is building anew, and sustainable growth principles are going to be very important to how New Orleans and the river region is rebuilt."
New approach
Initial fears that the city might simply be abandoned have eased: damage to the vital river port was minimal, and large areas of suburban New Orleans did not flood at all.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Instead, support appears strong for a substantial rethink of the city's urban geography. Impoverished areas wiped out by Katrina may not simply be rebuilt as they were.
That may please the US public, 54% of whom now think flooded areas of the city should not rise again, according to an Associated Press opinion poll.
"Building New Orleans where it is was a poor choice to begin with, but it was a poor choice made for a reason," Bruce Sharky, professor of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University, told the BBC News website.
<!-- S IANC --><!-- E IANC -->"But politically, sociologically and emotionally, abandoning the city entirely is not on the cards."
<!-- S ILIN -->Map of central New Orleans
<!-- E ILIN -->
New Orleans expanded in rhythm with trade along the Mississippi River, where much of the nation's grain is shipped out, and much of its oil shipped inland.
But it was the sweaty heart of the Big Easy, not the low-rise suburbs wracked with poverty and ravaged by Katrina, which brought people to the city.
Now the hope is that the French Quarter's lure of history, food and music can become a catalyst for regeneration.
Plans are being drawn up to retain historic areas of the city while rebuilding residential areas on higher ground and regenerating old wetlands to reduce the risk of future flooding.
<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5>
Al Naomi
US Army Corps of Engineers
<!-- S ILIN -->Nature's revenge?
<!-- E ILIN --><!-- S ILIN -->French Quarter keen to open
<!-- E ILIN -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->High quality transport links and projects to improve the quality of life and reduce poverty in New Orleans are high on most agendas. Bringing business and tourism back to the region is equally important.
There is a sense of optimism, but one tinged with caution.
Mr Olivier, the politician, is bullish about the future. Bruce Sharky, the academic, is hopeful, but nervous that a "unique opportunity" could go to waste.
Others share his fear.
"We need to be very careful about rebuilding very low areas of the coast. Nature has told us that we should not be living there," Larry Schmidt, Louisiana director of the Trust for Public Land, told the BBC News website.
Before the storm, Mr Schmidt's national, non-profit organisation co-operated with the US Army Corps of Engineers on a plan to regenerate a mile-long strip of post-industrial riverfront, at a cost of up $85m.
With good management and a clear chain of command, Mr Schmidt, who lost his own home in the storm, believes Katrina could offer a "once-a-century chance to build a city of the future".
Rebuilding the walls
Yet little of consequence will be built in New Orleans without extensive input from the US army engineers who build and maintain the city's flood defences.
<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->Despite the failure of New Orleans' levees to hold back the water, little blame has been attached to the engineers, who have faced ever-tightening budgets in recent years.
Before the hurricane, the engineers had begun considering how to provide New Orleans with protection from a category-five hurricane. They also voiced fears about the increased rate of coastal erosion.
A preliminary study was completed, but a more detailed survey - which usually takes five years - needs to be carried out before any final plans are laid. The engineers expect to be asked to speed up their work.
"If you don't install some type of substantial hurricane protection along the Gulf coast it's going to be very hard to reassure people," said Al Naomi, senior project manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Louisiana. "There were some very sound military and economic reasons for the city to be where it was. "Now the policy-makers have to decide whether those reasons are enough to keep it there."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4229878.stm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
