« Sustainable Buildings and High Performance Schools | Main | Rolling Stones Rock Scott Stadium »
Reflections on Rebuilding New Orleans
After the storm: reflections on efforts to rebuild New Orleans, questions on national responsibility, and the potential to recapture the spirit of the place
Following her recent experience as a volunteer in a temporary shelter for New Orleans evacuees in Bayton, Texas, VMDO's Kim Thompson explores the question many are grappling with about our civic obligation to contribute to the relief effort and our search for an appropriate response.
"On September 2, 2005, I found myself on the edge of two storms -- the first involving a search for long-term care for my ailing mother, who resides near Houston, and the second resulting from my involvement and deep concern for the families I met at the temporary shelter. Attempting to put it all in perspective, I emailed friends in Charlottesville. I struggled to portray the faces of survivors, and my impression that all of the victims were not clearly represented by the images broadcast on the nightly news. My introduction to one survivor, Nancy, brought it all in focus for me.
"The measure of our society is how we treat the weak and vulnerable, the poor and powerless, at home and abroad."
A version of this quote was offered for consideration in response to the challenges my family faced while researching options for long-term health care for my elderly parent. The relevance to the Gulf Coast resettlement crisis raises the question on a broader scale as many search for a new home.
How do we respond: I hesitate to offer a designer's solution to the rebuilding effort when the problem is so much larger than that. The potential to rebuild the hurricane-battered zone begins with rebuilding lives -- those displaced can support the restoration, rejuvenate the city, and most importantly, they embody the spirit of the place. Yet the impression that a larger question concerning our response still weights heavy on my mind as I enjoy the comforts of life in Charlottesville and recall the faces of the hundreds left homeless.
Looking back on the week in Texas, I am moved by the generosity of the volunteer efforts in the Houston area, as well as the response of the Charlottesville church that answered my request for help on behalf of Nancy's family.
I'm inclined to believe that helping to rebuild lives will restore the city, and the notion that the spirit of the place is in the people still echoes in my mind. What can we do to help?
September 27, 2005 in Katrina & Gulf Coast recovery | Permalink
Comments
Kim raises some interesting questions, and I especially like the focus on "rebuilding lives." As we learned during 9/11, it was lives that were affected (both those that died and those that remained), not buildings. The city of New Orleans (and much of the Gulf coast), much like that of the World Trade Center site lies in ruin, but what remains in both places is the human spirit, the American spirit.
Life goes on, and for many in the South it already has. In speaking with many of my friends from the New Orleans area that have been relocated, they have found a renewed sense of strength - personally and spiritually. They have rekindled family relationships that were so-so in search of a comforting place to live in the interim. Children are enrolled in schools in other cities, and finding joy in new places and experiences. And many are ingrained in the rescue, reorganization, and rebuilding efforts going on across the Gulf Coast.
This spirit is not to be lost or stiffled. Instead it should be harnessed to recreate what was, or create what should be or is in the affected areas. The areas have the opportunity to evaluate what they had, and ultimately hold the pencil to create (or recreate) their respective homes and cities.
Nothing says that it all has to go back like it was. However, I believe it is essential that the results of rebuilding allow those human and cultural elements specific to that place to ring through. The rebuilding effort must be about the people and the city/town for the good of the people and town. It should not be viewed as an opportunity to make a quick buck, to redevelop it as a business venture. Lessons from Ground Zero should tell us that. Rebuilding what was there before (extensive office space) is not a need for NYC nor a smart use of that site. But business and politics have crept in and muddied (if not destroyed) what could have been a historic and triumphant response to tragedy and disaster. The people of the South (and the country) need to learn from these misteps in NYC.
This is not a time for pointing fingers about what could have been done. It is not a time for an investigation about who is at fault. This is an area that has avoided disaster for quite some time, and we must now turn our vision towards progress and tomorrow. We must all work to aid the "rebuilding of lives," and with it their cities.
Posted by: Bryce Powell | Sep 27, 2005 4:34:55 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
