Reconstructing Devastated Cities: Europe after World War II and New Orleans after Katrina

• Published in: Journal of urban design Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 377 - 397
• Main Author: Diefendorf, Jeffry M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nottingham Taylor & Francis Group 01.08.2009; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Building construction; Cities; Comparative analysis; Europe; Financial aid; Hurricane Katrina; Hurricanes; Landscape architecture; Louisiana; New Orleans; Post-conflict reconstruction; Storm damage; U.S.A; Urban development; Urban planning; Urban renewal; World War Two; New Orleans Louisiana; Europe
• ISSN: 1357-4809; 1469-9664
• DOI: 10.1080/13574800903056895

Comparing the post-war reconstruction of bombed German cities and the ongoing rebuilding of New Orleans can provide a useful basis for evaluating what has happened in the Crescent City since Katrina. This article concentrates on reconstruction financing, design ideas, and the planning process. The experience of German reconstruction suggests that expectations in New Orleans for immediate, unrestricted financial help from the Federal government and for constructing a dramatically new city were misplaced. External financing requires time to arrive. Planners after the war and today have drawn upon ideas common throughout the twentieth century. Aided by the Internet and the input of planners and architects from across the United States, the planning process in New Orleans has been comparatively rapid and open. Helped by volunteer labour and charity, actual rebuilding has been as much ad hoc as planned.