|
|
City-Works
Hosts Third Recovery Update Breakfast with Dr. Ed Blakely:
Plans for Environmental Sustainability
In
Dr. Blakely's October meeting with New Orleans non-profit
leaders, he described the Office of Recovery Management's
plans for rebuilding New Orleans' infrastructure and
development projects with the best and latest sustainable
design and energy-efficient practices available.
Dr.
Blakely remarked on his goal of returning to the "New Orleans
of the past": a more prosperous, walkable, sustainably
designed community. He stressed that as we pursue
green-building, we must remain sensitive to historic
preservation of our architectural fabric. He also
discussed an initiative to make fresh produce available to all
residents by restoring markets, like the French Quarter's
French Market, that were historically open across the
city.
Dr.
Blakely argued that "It's the City that's got to set the
example for adapting green practices." He detailed his
commitment by identifying the following goals as examples of
how city government can act as a more green-minded role model:
making all public buildings LEED certified, converting traffic
lighting to LED, resurfacing streets with more permeable
materials and recycling building materials, and purchasing
more fuel efficient "flex-fuel" vehicles.
Dr.
Blakely concluded by stressing that, along with messages about
New Orleans as a rebuilding community, we must continue to
reinforce the nation's conception of New Orleans pre-Katrina
as a livable place where food, music, arts, and an unequaled
diversity of cultures thrive in everyday life.
The
meeting was followed by an open-ended discussion session,
where the leaders from more than thirty New Orleans
non-profits were able to discuss their concerns and issues
directly with Dr. Blakely. |
|
Website
of the Month
In
an effort to enhance understanding about the rebuilding
process in New Orleans, we highlight a website each month that
provides important information about the complex problems we
face rebuilding this great city. The plans set forth by the
Office of Recovery Management outline how our initial recovery
will take place. See them in detail
HERE.
Office of Recovery
Management |
|
|
Greetings
Everyone!
City-Works
continues to push our goals of design assistance,
coalition building, and neighborhood development. Our
efforts to bring multiple non-profit organizations
together on a quarterly basis have been extremely
successful. We also continue to concentrate on
identifying and analyzing best national practices of
architectural and landscape design to create safer
communities, a goal that is essential for our recovery.
We are working to raise local awareness of these design
for crime prevention techniques so that individuals,
neighborhood organizations, developers, and city
officials understand their potential for reducing crime
in our area. And, finally, our contribution to
transforming New Orleans will really pick up in November
with the AIA visioning process for South Claiborne
Avenue.
Here's an
update: |
|
AIA
Sustainable Design Assessment Team: Initial Assessment
Update
The
American Institute of Architects' Sustainable Design
Assessment Team (AIA SDAT), an assembly of the nation's
leaders in urban planning, architecture, transportation
planning, and commercial and economic development, are
undertaking a unified analysis of redevelopment
strategies for the South Claiborne Avenue corridor. This
corridor represents a recovery project selected by both
the Office of Recovery Management and Councilwoman Stacy
Head's Office as a high priority. The te am
will evaluate and propose immediate actions that can be
taken to reinvigorate this very important
corridor.
AIA
SDAT's initial analysis of the corridor is
underway. The team took a walking survey of South
Claiborne Avenue and met with members from the Office of
Recovery Management, City Council, and the City Planning
Commission. The team also engaged in initial meetings
with neighborhood organizations on both sides of S.
Claiborne.
This
initial round of data collection and analysis will be
followed up by a session of public meetings with the AIA
SDAT here in New Orleans. These meetings are scheduled
for November 12-14. Please call Jim Livingston
at the City-Works office for more information on how to
participate in the public meetings (504.754.1427).
|
|
Crime
Prevention through Environmental Design: Safety in
Sustainable Rebuilding
Crime
Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is an
interdisciplinary set of guidelines first developed in
the 1960s by architects, urban planners, and
criminologists, which tries to discourage criminal
activity through elements of design in landscaping,
lighting, and the built environment.
"CPTED
goes beyond what's called the 'Broken Windows Theory' -
that obvious decline breeds further decline - to focus
on how clean, cared-for environments encourage
individual accountability of behavior and reduce
feelings of anonymity, which work together to discourage
crime," says Jim Livingston, Director of
City-Works. "In addition to cultural deterrents of
criminal activity, CPTED measures outline specific
design elements that can be applied to deter crime and
support law-enforcement."
Examples
of CPTED principals include clear demarcation of
entrances into a community - giving the perception of a
controlled, defined space. A well-manicured
landscape with many trees communicates the presence of
an alert and assertive community. A "natural
surveillance" creates a perception that one can be seen
at all times, reducing the potential for hiding places
or escape routes. Ground-up lighting also can be used to
illuminate faces, allowing individuals to be seen and
recognized from greater distances, while simultaneously
improving the area aesthetics. In general, CPTED relies
on building locations where activity is contained and
known, reducing foot traffic throughout the
space.
"The
rebuilding efforts in New Orleans offer a real
opportunity for incorporating CPTED principles into our
built environment and communities," said
Livingston. "This is one more example of
City-Works' dedication to ensuring that rebuilding and
design in this city is both effective and
sustainable." |
|
|
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
::
| |
| |
