3D"City-Works

City-Works Newsletter

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Transforming New Orleans

December= 2007

= In This Issue

= Pride Projects

= AIA SDAT

= Bike Trails

Focus on the Basics

While the AIA identified needs on = South Claiborne Avenue, they also acknowledged that without improving conditions in adjacent neighborhoods, the corr= idor spine would not appreciably improve. To drive neighborhood revitalization, we need to intervene to make residential blocks and a= reas more stable and accomplish tasks that residents can understand and se= e. These are
often called pride projects.

One important point is that aesthetics matter. For neighborhood revitalization to take hold, blocks and residential areas need to look like people are proud to be there. Houses and common spaces must show signs of life and be maintained so that when residents see them, they feel confident that the neighborhood = is getting better. Recognizing that many homes are occupied by tenants a= nd that many residents have limited incomes, intervention strategies mus= t be modest in scope so that they can include as many people as possible. = To do this, we should target areas ready for recovery on a block by block basis - based on criteria of homeownership, rate of return, or simply blocks where people want to do something and will work together. We m= ust get started with action. Work should be collaborative, but the focus should be making visible change.

Pride projects focus on action. They are simple, they are low cost, a= nd they create visible physical change. Some examples of pride projects include:

Dumpster Days (hir= e a dumpster or receive one from the city to have neighbors fill the dumpster with items that may otherwise end up on the street. Dumpster days can also facilitate volunteer clean-up-the-streets efforts.)

House lighting pro= jects

Landscaping projec= ts

Playground building projects

Chain Link fence r= emoval

Common space memor= ials to local heroes

Series of Block Gr= andmas to provide a safe space for local kids to congregate and meet th= eir physical and emotional needs)

Pick your neighbor parties (invite people whom you would like to have move next doo= r - friends or co-workers)

The upshot is we need to meet less, talk less, and do more. These pri= de projects can help show change that will revitalize our neighborh= oods adjacent to the corridor and throughout the city.

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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Greetings Everyone!

City-Works host= ed the American Institute of Architects in New Orleans in November in a collaborative effort to transform one of our urban critical corrido= rs - South Claiborne Av= enue. Many of the specific recommendations can be worked on immediately -= and some are transferable to other parts of the city. Read more about t= he AIA recommendations for action below. On another note, City-Works, = in our efforts to support sustainability in New Orleans, sees mobility issu= es and locally grown produce as cornerstones of a sustainable city. Doing = what we can to support bike paths and urban gardens makes New Orleans better for everyone= . Read below to link with some of the efforts in the city to improve our community and make it more livable.

Here's an update:

Initial Results from South Claiborne Ave: AIA Sustainable Design Assessment Team <= /span>

In November, a te= am of six national experts gathered by the American Institute of Architec= ts (AIA) Communities by Design came to New Orleans to make recommendat= ions for the sustainable redevelopment of South Claiborne Avenue. Inv= ited by Councilwoman Stacy Head's office and the Office of Recovery Management, the team focused their analysis on S. Claiborne Avenue from Na= poleon to Earhart Blvd. During their stay, team members participated in an in-depth tour of= the corridor, many individual meetings with residents and property owne= rs adjacent to the corridor, and three public meetings. City-Works facilitated each of these activities to help team members gather in= put from residents and other stakeholders. Their initial findings were presented at the Dryades YMCA in C= entral City on their final day and are available online at www.aia.org/liv_sdat_cities.

3D"South City-Works impressed on the t= eam that their work had to be specific, actionable, and low cost. The t= eam responded with a series of recommendations, many of which are transferable to other parts of the city. First, they suggested that S. Claiborne Avenue needs a designated and committed champion. It needs someone who can think a= bout the corridor on a daily basis and make the connections necessary to rebuild it. Second, it needs leadership, communication, and transparency. They suggested that S. Claiborne Avenue would b= enefit greatly through better branding and identity which can be done at a relatively low cost through landscaping, wrapping busses that run on Claiborne, and other initiatives that create corridor identity. Thi= rd, the team suggested that the city needs to lead the market recovery rather than reacting to market forces. In other words, city leaders need to anticipate and plan for change. This would include gathering market data, building acquisition funds, and providing tools and resources for developers who will bring the positive development th= at makes a difference.

What the AIA team mentioned time and time again though was that to redevelop S. Claiborne Avenue, it will take commitment. And it will take time. City-Works believes that now is the time to get started. Below we highlight different portions of the team's initial findings. The full report is due in = less than 3 months.

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Levee Bike Trail

3D"levee
Recent news of the plans to remove the Mississippi River bike trail seems to be thoroughly ill timed and = ill conceived. As the regional area works under the wise hand of the Regional Planning Commission to add cycling as a legitimate alterna= tive mode of transportation, the thought of losing the premier bike rout= e in the metropolitan area is tremendously worrisome.

Planning and buil= ding bike lanes through New= Orleans has been one of the positive signs of recovery of the city. As noted recently in the NY Times, other cities like Portland, OR have been able to create a small industry around their biking cultu= re. We need to encourage biking and other alternative modes of transportation rather than diminish them. Not replacing the Mississ= ippi River levee bike trail would let all the air out of the tires of the increased awareness and use of biking in New Orleans.

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3D"AIA

Websit= e of the Month

The American Institute of Architects have been great friends of New Orleans. One of the first national professional organizations to respond to the disaster, they have time and time again given freely of their expertise. Most recently, their work on S. Claiborne Avenue gives t= he city specific actions we can take to make a real change on the stre= et.

See them in detail<= span style=3D'color:#405B81'>

HERE.

American Institute of Architects