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Website
of the Month
Smart Growth principles have been used in New Orleans
for centuries. This website is one of the best in the country to
understand the principles of Smart Growth and what it means for our
community.
For more info about Smart Growth Online, click HERE.
Smart Growth
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Greetings Everyone!
City-Works has worked diligently over the past month to
build capacity of our neighbors to understand Design, Good
Government and the importance of building a Sustainable New Orleans. We
have some exciting projects to report this month.
There are some magnificent projects underway in New
Orleans, but there is much remaining to be done. We will continue to
work to keep you up to date with some of the good news that we see as
New Orleans rebuilds.
Jim Livingston
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The Importance of Design and Sustainability
Since its inception, City-Works has prioritized design
of the built environment. We have concentrated our efforts in this
Post-Katrina environment on sustainability, which is defined by the
American Institute of Architects as having social, economic, and
environmental components.
According to Jeremy Harris who helped push AIA
towards its sustainability model, sustainability is achieved if what is
created builds community, lasts multiple generations, and enhances the
well-being of all involved. Our existing buildings show the
sustainability of well designed, well build communities. For
City-Works, incorporating good design into our rebuilding efforts
encourages sustainability.
Good design will ensure longevity of what we
rebuild in New Orleans.
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Carrollton Ave. Discussion
On June 9, 2007, residents living adjacent to
Carrollton Avenue from Riverbend to City Park came together to discuss
redevelopment issues relevant to all. The goal of the discussion was to
encourage residents of these neighborhoods to work together and to think
holistically about development that is happening along the corridor.
City-Works co-hosted this event with the Housing Resource Center and
Gert Town Neighborhood Organizations.
As the first speaker, Angela O'Byrne started with
a discussion of Smart Growth principles. Dana Eness described her
experience supporting locally owned businesses through Stay Local.
Nancy McPherson detailed an exciting initiative that the AARP has put
together to support senior housing in the Hollygrove area. Karen
Parsons from the Regional Planning Commission talked about traffic
issues and initiatives along Carrollton Avenue, and Lavon Wright from
the Office of Recovery Management reviewed her office's initiatives
city-wide and in the Carrollton area especially. Tara Hernandez offered
the perspective of a developer, encouraging those in the audience to
learn to work with developers to have their interests heard and acted
upon. Alex Morgan from Councilwoman Midura's office also spoke and
indicated that his office will host a community discussion about this
recovery location in the near future.
The Carrollton Avenue discussion covered a
wide-range of topics designed to foster better working relationships
between neighborhood residents and developers. As such, the discussion
was one of several city-wide that have focused on building the capacity
of neighborhood associations to understand the complexities of
development so they can better converse with developers. This issue has
been covered by the Times Picayune which can be seen HERE.
City-Works' interest is to help
neighborhood organizations and individuals ask the right questions so
they can work with developers to rebuild the city.
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Jeremy Harris Visit
On May 17, 2007, Jeremy Harris, former mayor of
Honolulu, spoke to a City-Works audience about his city's reorganization
and revitalization efforts that earned his city the designation
"America's Greatest City" by Governing Magazine. After
his talk, Mayor Harris was joined by Steve Villavaso, Robert Tannen,
Jeff Thomas, and Wynettka Fisher for a panel discussion focusing on the
ongoing redevelopment of New Orleans. The talk and panel discussion
were co-hosted by AIA New Orleans and Global Green.
Mayor Harris described in detail how his
administration took a traditional "stovepipe" city government
that worked in departments without sufficient intergovernmental
collaboration and integrated it through technology and organizational
behavior best practices. As a former board member of the AIA and an
honorary member, Mayor Harris noted that one of his major accomplishments
was placing architects throughout his administration because they had
the vision to conceptualize design and redevelopment possibilities. By
his own account, Honolulu was transformed by the architects in his
administration.
The professional experience of panel members was
impressive. In addition to their many other accomplishments, two
panelists had written recovery plans, allowing for a high-level of
discussion between local panelists and Mayor Harris. The highlight of
the evening was the pointed, practical questions Mayor Harris fielded
about how his vision became reality.
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UNOP
Documents Distributed
In late May, City-Works
partnered with the Horizon Initiative to distribute hard copies of the
Unified New Orleans Plan to locations across the city, allowing
residents without internet capabilities to access the revised plan. In
our commitment to public participation throughout the planning process,
we recognized that the best way to move the process forward, with the
greatest possible support, was to make hard copies of the UNOP
revisions available to a wide audience. Horizon Initiative and
City-Works continued their close partnership by taking this
distribution burden off the City Planning Commission and, thus, we were
able to help expedite the approval of the document, first by the City
Planning Commission, then by the City Council, and most recently by the
Louisiana Recovery Authority.
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City-Works
is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the transformative rebuilding of
New Orleans. For more information about our organization, please visit
us on the web:
City-Works
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