FiveThirtyEight: Hurricane Katrina washed away black middle class in New Orleans

Some Pre-Katrina New Orleanians have raised concerns about threats to the city’s unique cultural identity, the escalating costs of real estate, and job security in the face of increased competition.

An often-repeated truth about Hurricane Katrina is that the events of August 29, 2005 were not a natural disaster, they were a man-made one caused by the failure of levee systems created to protect the city.

In 2005, Dr. Curtis was employed by Louisiana State University and worked with students as part of an academic team that helped with geospatial support for search and rescue operations in the Louisiana Operations Center.

“We looked at it on Google Earth”. This will be further armored in the future, but no additional action has been taken-or indeed proposed, to provide New Orleans with the flood protection that it sought in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Based on in-depth ethnographic interviews with the women conducted over a two-year period from 2008 to 2010, the study explores the reasoning behind these women’s choices to either return to New Orleans or remain displaced and the resources that were or were not available to these women as they attempted to make the best decisions for themselves and their families after the historic disaster.

“The recovery of the local economy is a key stabilizing factor that has driven the city’s recent positive momentum, by bringing people back, rebuilding communities and revitalizing the tourism industry, which is a key source of revenue for the city”, Moody’s analyst Andy Hobbs said in a statement.

That was not the case entirely the Lower Ninth Ward, where Curtis estimates current home occupancy rates range between 30 to 80 percent depending on the street.

Katrina crippled New Orleans and its consequences are felt to this day particularly among African-American residents.

However, he cautioned memories can fade after 10 years and worries that some will forget the lessons learned from Katrina’s wrath. Stephen says that this sounds like New Orleans and Detroit are in a similar situation.

Making New Orleans a more watery city is a cornerstone to a resiliency plan Landrieu unveiled Tuesday to help the city survive.