New Orleans might raze over 43,000 homes
Tags: housingAccording to this, NO has inspected 128,000 homes on the east bank, and they will soon raze 2,500 of those. Around another 3,000 were also marked as inhabitable, but their status will be verified before a final decision is made. But:
The vast majority of the homes in the city — about 68 percent — were coded yellow, or judged to be sound but with structural damage. And [chief technology officer, Greg Meffert] said it's likely that as many as half of those homes, or about 43,000, will eventually be demolished. But city officials hope to leave that decision in the hands of the homeowner as much as possible, he said.
January 6th, 2006 at 9:32 am
From Hurricane Rita blogger Ron Franscell at http://underthenews.blogspot.com …
Katrina laid bare many unsavory realities in New Orleans. Among them: No city, state or federal government has all the answers, and none can be counted on to always do the right thing in a crisis. But also: People will do some pretty stupid things in a crisis.
In principle, the destruction of houses that threaten health, safety and community progress is a good idea, although it's understandable why those homeowners don't wish to see the corpses of their former homes bulldozed. But has the City of New Orleans done everything it can to work with homeowners in the Lower Ninth Ward and other neighborhoods to lessen the emotional impact of such demolition?
Given the late and ineffective "action" — and ultimately fatal dithering — of government officials before, during and after Katrina, I wouldn't count on it. The government (city, state or federal) hasn't earned enough trust to be able to stride boldy into wounded neighborhoods and start knocking down houses.
But the people of New Orleans must also understand that the hollowed-out, moldy corpses that were once homes cannot be preserved indefinitely. It's not safe, healthy, nor good for the revivification of a great city. All of us along the Gulf Coast who lost something in the hurricanes of 2005 must understand that, though it pains the heart, some things simply must go to make way for something better.