Q&A on Rebuilding New Orelans

Last November, members of the Philadelphia-based consulting firm Wallace Roberts & Todd were asked by the Urban Planning Committee of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission to prepare an action plan for rebuilding the city. On April 5, 2006, WRT principals John Beckman, AICP, Richard Bartholomew, AICP, and Paul Rookwood, AICP, spent two hours online answering questions about their plan. Below is a transcript of the questions they answered live during the event.

Welcome to Planning magazine's two-hour webchat on the rebuilding of New Orleans.

In the article you said that you had 10 weeks to create a plan for physical reconstruction. Was that enough time given the complexity of the situation?

A plan for the city of this size typically takes from at least one to two years. This, however, was an emergency and it was necessary to build political momentum for reconstruction and give focus to local rebuilding efforts. It was also important to send a message to state and federal officials that there was consensus and a direction for rebuilding. So, we had to figure out what we could realistically achieve in this time frame, and that was partly a broad brush framework plan but also in reality a plan for a more detailed plan that now needs to be undertaken.

In what ways, and to what extent, did your role as out-of-town consultants affect your relationship with the city and civic groups, and did it ultimately affect any of your recommendations as well?

We are out-of-town consultants, but we have some understanding of the city gained through a 30-year history of working with the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, and community groups in the city. The value of being an out-of-town consultant is that we did not have a personal stake in any particular outcome other than our desire to see the city be reborn. Also, there was a great deal of trust placed in out work because of the way we conducted the work, the fact that we were seen to be impartial, and yet people had a level of trust based on their prior experiences of working with us.

What relationship do you see between the long-term redevelopment needs of New Orleans and the environmental and economic health of outlying rural areas, particularly those along the rapidly eroding Louisiana coastline?

This is a difficult, but interesting question. We feel it is important to rebuild the areas protected by levees in New Orleans because this represents "smart growth" in the sense that it will allow reurbanization of the city and it is an alternative to sprawl. We calculated that if 200,000 people from New Orleans choose instead to move to the region north of Lake Ponchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, they would consume approximately 120 square miles of land at prevailing development densities in the parish. This would represent greenfield development and an environmental disaster of its own. It would also require the new residents and the public sector to finance all of the new public services and facilities required by this development as opposed to reusing those that already exist in New Orleans.

How has the public perceived the overall plan?

The Action Plan was presented to the city on January 11 and to the state on January 13. The city conducted a public review process with multiple public meetings. On March 20, the Mayor presented the city's plan, which included only two changes to the Action Plan. These were the deletion of a moratorium on building permits and the suggested 50 percent return of residents to neighborhoods. The wider public response seems to echo that presentation and to be particularly supportive of the neighborhood planning process.

How much of the infrastructure (phone, water, power) had been restored while you were working in New Orleans?

When we started work in early November, the majority of the city was without electricity or water or sewer. As of March 25, 2006, 96 percent of former customer addresses have access to electric, water, and gas service. However, only approximately 50 percent are using those services. This reflects the difficulty people have in moving back and rebuilding their homes to the point where they can get a permit for hook-up which is available at the block level.

In the Planning magazine interview, Rookwood mentioned that there were virtually no data. Data are so critical in the planning process. Can you elaborate on your process for developing this plan with limited data?

At the beginning of the process there were very few available data, with the city's GIS not available at the time, so we scrambled to collect what we could initially to get going, from our own archives and from publicly available resources. Other groups were also working fast to assemble map data and shared them with us as soon as they became available. Other kinds of data, such as the demographic projections on return rates, were developed in tandem with our planning process. Because of the short time from and broad brush nature of this first effort, some of the detailed data needed in a normal planning process were replaced temporarily by informed estimates or general assumptions that will be revisited in the next phase of work.

How are planners wading through the incredible politics of the situation in New Orleans? Will WRT's plan be enacted?

Dealing intelligently with a complex political context is often a characteristic of the high profile projects on which we tend to work, although clearly this is a special case. As in all efforts, however, our work in New Orleans must take pragmatic account of the political realities of the day and respect the unction of political life in a democratic system, while keeping our eyes on the future needs of the city in the most holistic sense. Undoubtedly, parts of WRT's plan will be implemented intact, and we believe the broad framework will stand the test of time, but the details are yet to be resolved.

Will any of you be speaking at the conference in San Antonio? If so, in what session?

Yes, John Beckman will participate in the "Rebuilding New Orleans" session on Monday, April 24, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

The session will explore whether New Orleans should be reconstructed at its current site. If so, how? Discussion will focus on the form a rebuilt city should take, how historic resources can be saved, and what environmental protection measures should be taken.

In addition to John Beckman, the speakers will be Ruth Knack, AICP, American Planning Association, Chicago (moderator), and Jane S. Brooks, FAICP, University of New Orleans, Metairie.

Do you hope to incorporate principles of sustainable/green urban planning into the new deveopment scheme for New Orleans, especially those that may help prevent future natural disasters from taking such a large toll (wetland restoration, etc.)?

The vision articulated in the plan states: "New Orleans will be a sustainable, environmentally safe, socially equitable community with a vibrant economy." This vision was the creation of the Bring New Orleans Back Committee and is supported by more detailed recommendations of the plan addressing issues including flood and stormwater protection, park and open space, and neighborhood rebuilding.

Would you see a role for a parklike wetlands to help absorb not only water but toxics?

Because of the low-lying land in New Orleans, the water table is close to the surface. So the idea that seems to be implied — that wetlands can serve a groundwater recharge function — is an example of a generally good idea that has only limited applicability in the city. Having said that, wetlands and parkland can be located so as to help temporarily store stormwater prior to it being pumped out of the city. Also, the coastal wetlands outside the city serve a vital flood protection function, and it is also probable that phyto-remediation will play a role as a management strategy for some areas that have been polluted.

The greenspace that was suggested by the BNOB [Bring New Orleans Back Committee] took a lot of criticism from neighborhoods like Broadmoor. Is there a revised greenspace plan and who will maintain it? Will the neighbors have a say in this proposed parkland?

There are no revised plans, except to the extent that the generalized areas shown as "open space" have been relabeled as "potential open space" to clarify the fact that those areas need to be defined through more detailed planning at the neighborhood level.

Regarding wetland restoration, I saw a PBS program where an LSU scientist stated that the $1 billion budgeted for coastal wetland restoration is inadequate — studies indicate a need for about $15 billion. Also, some people have argued that areas of New Orleans should be recreated as wetlands, but one scientist argues that removing existing contamination would be too costly and thinks if the levee system is reconstructed, the city should not try to construct large scale wetland areas. What is your thinking on wetlands?

Not all of New Orleans was wetlands before development. Significant areas of what is now the city were natural levees, or high ground, formed by the Mississippi River in its many channels over the past several thousand years. If New Orleans were to be turned into wetlands, a replacement city for 485,000 people would have to be constructed. This would involve finding and purchasing land, and planning, designing, financing, and constructing all the infrastructure, buildings, parks, and other assets of a city. In addition, the irreplaceable cultural, architectural, landscape, and institutional resources of the city would have to be moved to the new location. Other resources such as the port, museums, medical, and educational institutions and the like would have to be recreated as well. Subsequent to this effort, all of the development in the city would have to be removed: buildings, roads, infrastructure, etc. The soil would have to be remediated and amended from its urbanized condition to be supportive of wetland vegetation. Understanding that approximately one-half of the city is above and one-half is below sea level, removing the levees would result in a condition where half of the city was underwater and the other half above water, thus necessitating an enormous filling and grading operation to create a wetland environment. Our belief is that the coastal wetlands outside of the levees should be restored to the greatest extent practical, and that wetlands within the levee system will be relatively limited.

Do you feel that the redevelopment of New Orleans could become a model for sustainable development for the rest of the country?

In the plan we prepared, we recommended that New Orleans should be rebuilt, but not exactly as before. The goal we espoused was to build a better city, and in particular one that would demonstrate clearly best practices in sustainable community building. That said, we must recognize that some of the reconstruction needs to be urgently accomplished and that some of the highest ideals from a sustainability standpoint may be sacrificed on the altar of expediency. However, there are some unique opportunities that might serve both the sustainability and the time frame issues. One is the implementation of a facility for sustainable modular housing in New Orleans. Another is the treatment of lands that will not be immediately redeveloped. Phytoremediation and planting of urban forests can produce superior living environments in the future.

Prior to Katrina, the city planning commision was in the process of completing a citywide master plan and a new zoning ordinance. The voices of many neighborhoods and their visions were outlined in this master plan document. Did your team or the BNOB [Bring New Orleans Back Committee] use these documents to get an idea of the visions of these neighbors who are now displaced and unable to voice their concerns?

One of our first actions was to contact the City Planning Commission and secure all of the relevant, available documents. They were working under considerable duress with only eight people staffing a department that had 24 staff pre-Katrina. In addition, the city's GIS system was not functioning at that time. Throughout our planning process we used the master plan elements as reference both for data and for policy. While some of the elements are more recent than others, and not all had been adopted at that time, they were an invaluable resource. Both the planning team and the BNOBC volunteers referred to these documents.

A huge amount of the housing stock in the city was severely water damaged. How much of the current stock do you think should be rehabed, and how much torn down? Also, how much area should be restricted from residential and/or commercial development?

FEMA tagged all houses in the city as red, yellow, or green. Red indicating severe structural damage; yellow indicating damage, but not structurally unsound; and green as okay. Most properties were tagged yellow. Determination of which houses might be repaired depends on: (1) the revised FEMA Base Flood Elevation maps and the response by the mortgage, finance, and insurance industries; and (2) a detailed property assessment. We believe the planning should allow for rebuilding everywhere protection from flooding is adequate. How much will be rebuilt will be determined by the flood insurance rate maps, available financing and insurance, and individual financial decisions.

I have not heard anything about their transit system. Any updates?

The RTA is starting a rapid planning effort to establish the transit system which in 90 days will cease being funded by FEMA and become their sole responsibility again. Part of this effort will look at existing bus and street car lines and part of it will touch on the possibility of additional service funded by new sources.

What steps has local government undertaken to expedite the redevelopment process? Administrative plan review? Fast track permiting? And what is the workload for the city's planning and inspectional services departments (i.e. are they seriously understaffed)?

The city is operating under considerable stress because of dramatically reduced revenue and staff and the ongoing emergency which presents new issues on a daily basis. In spite of this, the city has attempted to expedite critical approvals. In particular, the city is making serious efforts to meet with citizens who want to appeal the designation of percent damage to their houses. This percent is important because it determines a number of outcomes including ability to rebuild under existing regulations or the necessity of using more stringent regulations. Additionally, the city is making efforts to issue building permits as rapidly as possible to permit repair and rebuilding and the repopulation of New Orleans.

It must be difficult to get real citizen participation in decision making under these circumstances. Are there any extraordinary or unusual methods you have found effective in encouraging participation from far-flung residents?

The Action Plan that was completed in January included public participation by many hundreds of citizen members who volunteered to work on the BNOBC's [Bring New Orleans Back Committee] overall plan. Our proposal for detailed neighborhood planning is based on an extensive citizen participation program, including multiple working sessions with displaced residents in other cities. None of this is easy in an emergency situation with a compressed time schedule. In addition to working sessions in New Orleans and other cities, we are examining a variety of other techniques including web based outreach, surveys, and the like. Many entities, including neighborhood groups, faith based organizations, and others, have already developed their own contact lists and networks. We hope to incorporate all of these in the ongoing outreach work.

You had mentioned in the article the difficulties in preparing a rebuilding plan in such short time and with information lacking (from FEMA, insurers, banks, etc.). Given that by the end of May the neighborhood planning teams must complete their work, will there be enough time to acquire and process all of the missing information your teams would require to make appropriate decisions?

Work is now underway to create a focused planning process very much in line with that recommended in the Action Plan. The schedule has been adjusted to reflect a delay in securing funding for this very significant effort. Many neighborhood groups have already started their own planning efforts. We expect these will be incorporated into and coordinated with a citywide plan that will have the benefit of key pieces of information. The most important of these will be the new advisory Base Flood Elevation maps scheduled to be released by FEMA in the near future. This effort will likely extend into the fall of 2006.

Were you given any objectives or review by the political establishment at any level, or did you have a free hand to exercise your professional judgment and represent the residents?

WRT was charged by the Urban Planning Committee of the BNOBC [Bring New Orleans Back Committee] to prepare the Action Plan for the physical rebuilding of New Orleans. While the BNOBC was convened by the Mayor, the work was conducted by the volunteers and professional involved without any political intervention. After presentation of the recommended plan on January 11, the Mayor conducted multiple public meetings to solicit input and made the city's official recommendation of the plan on March 20. This plan reflected the Urban Planning Committee's recommendation with two changes: no building permit moratorium and no minimum return in population commitment for neighborhoods.

Are you intending to replan New Orleans to meet the housing needs for the city's pre-Katrina population, or instead a smaller population that may grow larger over the medium term? And do you suspect that limits to population or housing density are prudent for New Orleans in the face of potentially worse hurricane seasons in the coming years and/or decades?

The Action Plan states that everyone who lived in New Orleans prior to Katrina should be able to return. The ultimate build-out population of the city is hard to forecast at this point in time, but from WRT's standpoint could easily exceed its pre-Katrina population, if the city builds both on the best of its traditions and the best new ideas about urban place making to become a community of choice. The initial forecasts of population return have already been surpassed. This is evidence of both the deep roots of the population and their attraction to the city.

Thank you for joining us today.

More About the Plan

Beckman, Bartholomew, and Rookwood were interviewed about their work in New Orleans in the April 2006 issue of Planning.

Click here to read the interview.