I just returned from a two day site visit to New Orleans and I had to put some thoughts down while they were fresh in my mind. With our popular Law Seminar scheduled in the city in early 2007, we needed to ensure that the hospitality and conference facilities and resources in New Orleans were being repaired adequately and would be available to meet our members needs. After many years of hard lessons, I have learned that the best way to know for sure is to go and see for yourself. So that is what we did. I have also uploaded some pictures that highlight what we saw.
If you get all your news from television (shame on you), then it would be easy to get the impression that New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast continues to be a vast wasteland of gutted homes, FEMA trailers, and relief centers. While there is truth to the pictures that TV brings into our homes, it is of course rarely the whole truth.
Yes, there are vast sections of New Orleans that were severely flooded and thousands of homes that were severely damaged and even destroyed. It will take many more months, and in some cases years, for all of these properties to be restored and rebuilt. This may be the largest urban planning, design, and rebuilding project in the United States since the Reconstruction. My heart aches for those who have lost family members, friends, and even their entire history.
As you can see from the photos, many homes suffered tremendous, even catastrophic, damage. What the pictures don't show is the frenzy of work that is going on, the buzz of chain saws, the pounding of hammers, and the rumble of dump trucks carrying away debris.
They are actively rebuilding communities, and hopefully building an even greater sense of community than existed before. Those of us in the community association industry appreciate that never-ending challenge.
But at the same time, there are also vast areas of the city that are up and running, including most all of the areas that the typical visitor would see and experience. The French Quarter and central business district are open for business with the vast majority of hotels, restaurants, t-shirt shops, bars, and even the Lucky Dogs hot dog cart vendors back at work. I have included a couple of photos from the French Quarter, which looks much the same as it did when I was there last winter. Most recently, New Orleans staged a successful Mardi Gras celebration which set the stage for the city's rebirth in 2006.
What struck me most was the determination of the residents of New Orleans to make their city whole again. They not only want to rebuild because that will enable tourism to resume and revenue to return to the city, but they want their families and friends to be able to return, they want their city to shine again - the passion that they feel for their city is palpable.
Perhaps the things that encouraged me the most were the most mundane. It was reassuring to see a parking enforcement officer working her way down Bourbon Street ticketing cars. It was comforting to see the tarot card readers staking out the best locations on Jackson Square. It was wonderful to hear the melange of languages and accents among the customers and waiters at Cafe du Monde.
That's the kind of thing you expect to see in a vibrant and lively city and I'm glad to see it back on the streets of NOLA.
