Tuesdays at APA — June 2007

Planning in Today's New Orleans

June 12, 2007

The post-Katrina planning process in New Orleans has been slow and complex. It has included several phases: the Bring New Orleans Back plan, the City Council (Lambert Advisory) planning process, the Unified New Orleans Plan, and implementation of these plans through the city's Office of Recovery Management. It has also been affected by plans and policies of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, such as the "Road Home" program, which pays homeowners to rebuild or relocate.

Rob Olshansky summarized all of these processes to date, discussed some of the major challenges, and speculated on what to expect in the coming months.

About the Speaker

Robert B. Olshansky, AICP, is Professor and Interim Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he has taught for 17 years. He has published extensively on post-disaster recovery planning, planning and policy for earthquake risks, and environmental impact assessment.

Olshansky has studied recovery after several major earthquakes, most notably the 1995 Kobe, Japan, earthquake, and he spent the 2004-2005 academic year studying this topic as a Visiting Professor at Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute. Since September 2005 he has been closely monitoring the post-Katrina planning process in New Orleans.