We Rebuilt This City

Bigwigs weigh in on how best to rebuild New Orleans

Posted by Bricolage at 12:18 PM on 24 Oct 2005

What's the one thing you'd most like to see occur as part of rebuilding flood- and hurricane-ravaged New Orleans? We asked a motley crew of movers and shakers to put on their thinking caps and answer the question for us. Today's replies: smart community planning, racial equality, and ponies for everyone! We'll be publishing more contributions every day this week, so come back early and often -- and don't forget to drop by Gristmill and share your opinions on the subject.

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Re-Build the Big Easy? NOT IN A MILLION YEARS

My father, Frederick P. Wiesinger, was a renowned structural engineer, and he once said he had to prop up a job botched by another company on more than ten thousand cardboard boxes.
There's no chance of even that measure of help for "the City That Care Forgot", because no matter what kind of buildings, green or conventional, are planned for the New Orleans area, no-one can stop them from sinking!
No buildings there can ever be stable, therefore, NO building should occur.

Chicago Master Gardener (11+ years)/TreeKeeper (#467, 5+ years)

by Valkyrie at 2:21 PM on 28 Oct 2005

Oh yes, we can and should rebuild New Orleans

I'm not clear on what Mr./Ms. Wiesinger is referring to in their comment about 'propping up a job on 10,000 cardboard boxes.' And while there's some truth in his statement that there is some natural subsidence and gradual sinking of buildings in New Orleans, his assertion that "No buildings there can ever be stable, therefore, NO building should occur" is belied by the fact that many historic buildings HAVE existed in N.O. - one of our oldest cities, having been founded in 1718 - for a LOT longer than most of our cities.

I grew up in a city in the Midwest that was so dull, I couldn't wait to escape, and have since travelled widely in the U.S. I've made a point of living in places that had at least a little character. I lived in N.O. for ten years and have NEVER seen a U.S. city as culturally and architecturally unique as the Big Easy.

There's a reason more songs have been written about or mention N.O. There is no other American city that comes even close to having it's charm, and people from all over the world come there to enjoy an experience they can't have anywhere else.

Since the Federal Flood that followed Katrina (which actually missed N.O.) was the result of incredibly slipshod work by the U.S. Corps of Engineers - that they now acknowledge - we have an obligation to the people there to rebuild. It would take a fraction of the money now being squandered on the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The criminally slow response on the part of Bush & Co. - which Greg Palast has now shown to be a result of the Feds trying to avoid their responsibility for paying for the catastrophic results of decades of ignoring the Corp's shoddy work - made the disaster much worse than it would've been had they responded ealier. (http://www.gregpalast.com/hurricane-georgehow-the-white-h ...)

I lived in Seattle for many years, and was there during their last earthquake. It was relatively minor, yet caused a lot of damage to buildings. Should we now abandon Seattle because 'no building there can ever be [perfectly] stable?

by sandysdharma at 10:13 AM on 28 Aug 2007

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