Another Supporter for elevating New Orelans

This proposal is not quite as extensive as mine, but I like the approach. I still think that w/ NOLA only six feet below sea level, we should be able to provide enough landfill to elevate the entire area.

Stage II in Rebuilding New Orleans

David Brooks writes:

"In those cultural zones, many people dropped out of high school, so it seemed normal to drop out of high school. Many teenage girls had babies, so it seemed normal to become a teenage mother. It was hard for men to get stable jobs, so it was not abnormal for them to commit crimes and hop from one relationship to another. Many people lacked marketable social skills, so it was hard for young people to learn these skills from parents, neighbors and peers...

...That's why the second rule of rebuilding should be: Culturally Integrate. Culturally Integrate. Culturally Integrate. The only chance we have to break the cycle of poverty is to integrate people who lack middle-class skills into neighborhoods with people who possess these skills and who insist on certain standards of behavior."

David Brooks is entirely correct about this. Cultural integration (also called scattered site housing) has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt to benefit the underclass - it helps "mainstream" the values of the children who live in these communities, it helps close the achievement gap between the middle and underclasses, and provides better cultural education for everyone by exposing children of the middle classes to those of the underclass.

I have lived in two of the most integrated communities in the nation (Hyde Park, Chicago and SW DC) and believe that it fundamentally works for everyone.

A Novel Approach to Rebuilding New Orleans

Despite the comments of Speaker Hastert, it seems like the rebuilding of New Orleans is a forgone conclusion. However, we are heading into a 20 to 40 year hurricane cycle during which it's likely New Orleans will be hit again and again. In order to avoid the type of human catastrophe wreaked by Katrina, the State of Lousiana and the Federal Government should address the primary problem with New Orleans: it is below sea level.

The most obvious manner to handle this is to elevate the destroyed parts of New Orleans to sea level or above. This would be done in two parts:

1) Landfill from the other 48 Continental States should be diverted to New Orleans. This would be a major undertaking, comparable to the Big Dig in Boston, and would provide jobs to many of the displaced underclass. The destroyed houses and building would be the base of the landfill.

2) Build new homes, with foundations above sea level, on the new land. This could be done either by traditional home construction firms, or by a habitat for humanity type program which would give houses to the displaced residents who came back to work on the landfill and home building projects. Of course some combination of the two construction means could be employed.

This may strike many people as similar to the New Deal's WPA. And I suppose it is. But given the consensus that we will rebuild, it would accomplish something necessary: preventing further Hurricane damage to one of our nation's oldest cities and most important ports. Furthermore, it would provide jobs for the displaced residents of New Orleans.

The Obvious Question: Who Will Pay for This?
Ideally, it will be paid for with a combination of Federal and State funds. I would also expect the insurance industry to pony up a sizable chunk of the money. After all, one reason for doing this is to prevent similar disasters in the future which they would otherwise be required to pay for. Additionally, Louisiana may even be able to charge some states for taking the landfill.