Learning from L9WNOLA

Abstract

Throughout history traumatic events have served as a catalyst for the reinvention of the city. Through destruction cities are able to change the ways in which they function, address issues that limit growth, provide opportunity for social reform, or even change the way a community views its architecture. Although this is not always the case, many traumatic events have destroyed cities, communities, and even civilizations to the point where they are unable to recover. At no point in history were these disastrous traumatic events more common than in the past century. Due to new technologies in media, the horrors of a disaster can be seen from start to finish in the confines of ones own home, far from any real danger. Because of these new technologies we are forced to acknowledge the fact that our cities are vulnerable and fragile. If communities are to truly move forward from disaster then recovery is not the only response that needs to take place; growth needs to be nurtured. Only through examining, comparing, and contrasting traumatic disasters, both natural and man made, can a narrative start to be told of how post traumatic growth can develop. Events such as the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fires, Great Chicago Fires of 1871, and World Trade Center attacks of 2001 provide insight into the relationship between communalization and the possibility for a traumatic experience to have a positive out come. In event of Hurricane Katrina inappropriate responses have hindered a physical recovery, as many of the communities are still far from being sustainable. Post-Hurricane-Katrina/Rita New Orleans, specifically the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, shall be used as a vessel for testing theories of post-traumatic recovery scenarios. Never has any traumatic event so completely crippled a city like that of Hurricane Katrina/Rita. The mandatory evacuation of all non-essential personnel was the first of its kind. While essential personnel attempted to restore services to the area, its residents were spread throughout the United States of America, many with no family or home to go to. Even five years later the population of New Orleans is at 60% of what it was before Hurricane Katrina. The Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood is considered to be the most devastated area hit by Hurricane Katrina due to its relationship with the levee system and the MRGO water passage. It is the goal of this thesis that by learning from past traumatic scenarios a narrative can be written that starts to address the needs of a city to grow into a sustainable community following a traumatic event.