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Buried in this article is this interesting note:
Only about 100,000 residents have returned since the hurricane, and much of the city is uninhabitable. Redevelopment already has stalled as residents complain of getting little or no assistance from FEMA or private insurance companies.
A rather unusual plan has been floated in New Orleans, to the effect that if less than half the residents of a neighborhood return to rebuild, all the property owners there will be bought out by the city, whether they like it or not:
The proposal drew loud "boos" and shouts of anger from residents who crowded a downtown hotel meeting room for its announcement.
"I'm ready to rebuild. I'm not going to let you take everything. I'm ready to fight to get my property together," one man shouted from the back of the room.
Carolyn Parker, a resident of the ruined Lower Ninth, told the panel: "I don't think it's right that you try to take my property.
"Over my dead body," she said. "I didn't die with Katrina."
If a neighborhood is not deemed habitable, or too few residents return, the city could ban redevelopment and turn it into a park or open space. Property owners could be compensated in a proposed federal buyback program that would provide 100 percent of their homes' pre-storm value.
...The concept of getting rid of certain neighborhoods altogether has angered many black residents of the Lower Ninth Ward who fear theirs is among the most likely to be closed.
Odd as it is, the plan sounds like it's worth discussing. With sufficient compensation to the homeowners, this might be preferable to having a bunch of neighborhoods in which the majority of homes have been abandoned.
At this point the plan is for discussion only:
"This report is controversial. It pushes the envelope," the mayor told the crowd. "Let's discuss it, let's debate it, let's analyze it and let's tweak it.
