How do you rebuild a city? Five years after Hurricane Katrina hit, New Orleans is still answering that question. Robert Olshansky and Laurie Johnson are urban planners and co-authors of the book Clear as Mud: Planning for the Rebuilding of New Orleans. They tell Kurt about how the city is using disaster as a chance to improve its design while still preserving its culture.
Gather By the River
Artist: Davell CrawfordAlbum: Our New Orleans - A Benefit Album for Habitat For HumanityLabel: NonesuchPurchase: Amazon
Music Playlist
Featured Comments
-
There are a couple other fatal dynamics at play beyond those correctly cited by Joe Adalian (e.g. 4th quarter ad ...
-
I had tears in my eyes listening to this story. My son, so much a man now, is 26 and ...
-
Live in-Studio: Dom La Nena
-
Here Lies Love & Deaf Theater
-
Measure Twice, Cut Once
-
Deaf Actors Play Tribute to Oliver Sacks
-
Isabella Rossellini's Mammas
-
American Icons: The Great Gatsby
-
Alex Timbers and Here Lies Love
-
Is Network TV Dead Yet?
-
Aha Moment: Mary Karr's "Entering the Kingdom"
-
Lois Lowry Confirms Jeff Bridges to Film The Giver
Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen is a co-production of Public Radio International and WNYC Radio, and is funded in part by Ken and Lucy Lehman and the National Endowment for the Arts. Studio 360's American Icons series is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our Science and Creativity series is supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Comments [1]
Hearing the urban planners in this story discuss "blank slate" ideas reminded me of one of my favorite maps — Wren's plan for London after the fire of 1666.
After the fire (which burned for more than four days), Charles II encouraged the homeless to leave the city and set up a specially convened fire court to quickly sort out property issues (which took four years). Architects, hoping to win favor with the King, submitted plans for a "new" London, with new boulevards and plazas carved out of the City's twisting medieval streets.
But even as they were planning, the owners were already rebuilding, court or no court, and placing buildings exactly where they had stood before the fire. Even as plans reached the palace, it was too late. Charles II had no choice but to let the ad hoc building continue — lest he spark civil unrest by razing buildings already rebuilt. Wren received a commission only for the monument.
Wren's map: http://archivemaps.com/mapco/london/1666wren.htm
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.