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Long before the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina or the chaos of evacuation, New Orleans' social
infrastructure was failing. News coverage of the overcrowded Superdome and the city's flooded streets exposed the poverty and vulnerability of many residents, especially African Americans. As New Orleans begins to rebuild, can the city avoid the mistakes of the past, instead creating more effective social support for low-income and minority residents? Innovation and experience from other U.S. cities offer promising strategies for reducing the risks of poverty and opening up opportunities for economic security and success. This essay is from an Urban Institute collection that addresses employment, affordable housing, public schools, young children's needs, health care, arts and culture, and vulnerable populations. All these essays assess the challenges facing New Orleans today and for years to come and recommend tested models for making the city's social infrastructure stronger and more equitable than it was before Katrina.
When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the
storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in
America. As all of us saw on television, there's also some deep, persistent poverty in
this region as well. That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which
cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this
poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday,
and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.
President George W. Bush, September 15, 2005
Long before the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of the levees, or the chaos of evacuation, the social infrastructure of New Orleans was failing many of the city's residents. Jobs and population had been leaving the city for decades; public school performance was dismal; and rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health, and hardship were high. Conditions were especially bleak in the city's poor neighborhoods, where decades of racial segregation, disinvestment, and neglect fostered severe isolation and distress. People living in these neighborhoods faced daunting
risks and few prospects for economic security or advancement. Scenes from the Superdome and the flooded streets of New Orleans exposed the poverty and vulnerability of many African American residents.
New Orleans' lower-income residents also face the greatest risks of lasting damage in Katrina's aftermath. Certainly, many people who lived or had a business in New Orleans are experiencing uncertainty and loss. But for families with no financial assets, little work experience, limited education or skills, poor health, or disabilities, the challenges of starting anew can seem paralyzing. Moreover, some of the city's poorest neighborhoods were essentially washed away by the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina, leaving their residents with no homes, schools, businesses, churches, or social networks to which to return.
As New Orleans begins to rebuild, what are the prospects for these families and their communities? Some will decide not to return—because they have simply lost too much, because the costs and uncertainties are too daunting, or because they have found new opportunities elsewhere. Current forecasts put the city's population at 247,000 by September 2008, just over half of its pre-Katrina level (Bring New Orleans Back 2006), and some experts argue that low-income and minority residents are the least likely to return (Logan 2006). Thus, policies aimed at giving victims of Katrina opportunities to put their lives back together must include initiatives targeted to the communities where they are living now.
But what about those who want to return to New Orleans? Federal, state, and local officials have all expressed a commitment to a safe return and a better future for all the city's residents. Despite the rhetoric, whether and how these commitments will be realized remains uncertain. Can a city that was failing its lower-income residents on so many fronts before the storm avoid the mistakes of the past and instead create the economic opportunities and supports that give people a chance at better lives?
There are good reasons to try. New Orleans' lower-income residents and their communities did possess important assets that contributed to the city's unique character and vitality. For example, despite the high poverty of the Lower Ninth Ward, 60 percent of households there owned their homes. Many had lived in the neighborhood their whole lives in homes that had been in their families for generations. They had built strong social networks of family, friends, and neighbors that helped them weather hardship and join in producing New Orleans' distinctive Mardi Gras festivities. And they played irreplaceable roles in creating the distinctive music, art, architecture, and cuisine that made New Orleans unique and attracted millions of tourists to the city every year.
Over the coming years, massive sums of money—public, private, and philanthropic—will be invested in rebuilding. Much of this investment must go to physical infrastructure, beginning with reliable levees and other flood protection systems. But without parallel investments in affordable housing, quality public schools, effective job training, health care, and other social infrastructure, New Orleans will not attract back as many families, nor can it become a city where all residents enjoy opportunities for security and success. An unprecedented opportunity will be missed if some of the investments in the city's reconstruction are not used to rebuild stronger, smarter social support systems and avenues for economic advancement.
The challenges facing New Orleans today are unique. No other city in the country—however distressed its economy or frayed its social safety net—has had to rebuild almost everything at once. Nonetheless, almost every American city is grappling with unemployment, racial segregation, failing public schools, inadequate health care, unaffordable housing, poverty, and hardship. If New Orleans tackles these problems seriously and systematically as it rebuilds, it can become a model for the rest of the country. A sustained commitment to providing real economic opportunities and effective social supports for all residents could rebuild not only New Orleans, but also the nation's collective vision of how cities should work for Americans, including the poorest and most vulnerable.
Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).
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