New Orleans
Reaction to the continuing updates from New Orleans can't be put into words. Here is a New Orleans resident's blog (link stolen from Eileen). As a civil engineer and urbanist it is hard for me to process how a major American city is on the verge of destruction in 2005, and as disturbing, how the public order has broken down.
My two visits to New Orleans had a huge impression on my concept of what makes a city great. Discussion of reconstruction, when it is time, must focus on maintaining New Orleans' unique culture and style, not building typical US suburbia or Houston-esque placeless urbanization. This will be difficult, because the latter route is far cheaper and easier in the short term. More to come.
posted by Jon @ 10:45 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Even worse than Houston-esque placeless urbanization would be an attempt to consciously "recreate" the New Orleans experience a la Disney!
Good point. New Orleans is what it is (was) partly because of history and the complexity "grit factor" developed over a long period of time. Can't be recreated easily, not quickly, and definitely not by developers used to massive homogeneous "product" with a mere nod to local vernacular and history, or worse, overdoing it with inauthentic Disneyfication.
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