Building Opportunity and Equity Into the New New Orleans: A Framework for Policy and Action

When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there's also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. President George W. Bush, September 15, 2005 ong before the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of the levees, or the chaos of evacuation, the social infrastructure of New Orleans was failing many of the city’s residents. Jobs and population had been leaving the city for decades; public school performance was dismal; and rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health, and hardship were high. Conditions were especially bleak in the city’s poor neighborhoods, where decades of racial segregation, disinvestment, and neglect fostered severe isolation and distress. People living in these neighborhoods faced daunting risks and few prospects for economic security or advancement. Scenes from the Superdome and the flooded streets of New Orleans exposed the poverty and vulnerability of many African American residents. New Orleans ’ lower-income residents also face the greatest risks of lasting damage in Katrina’s aftermath. Certainly, many peopl