We Rebuilt This City

We asked environmental, political, and academic leaders from around the country about their hopes for the rebuilding of New Orleans. Here's what some of them had to say. Be sure to check out the rest of this week's contributions, and add your thoughts in Gristmill.

Laurie David

From the moment Katrina hit the abnormally warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and turned the Category 1 storm into a Category 4, my hope was that this tragic event would be the moment in time that inspired the great American awakening: the "aha!" moment when everyone, including the current administration and naysayers, finally acknowledged that the globe is warming and humans are causing it.

It took only a few days before the first courageous connections between hurricanes and global warming were drawn, and then only a few more before Time magazine put out a powerful cover story: "Are We Making Hurricanes Worse? The Impact of Global Warming." Good Morning America, ABC News, and CNN also filed extensive reports.

If anything positive can come from this disaster, it has to be a recognition that we are impacting our weather to such a degree that life as we know it is changing. Katrina must be the mother of all wake-up calls. As the country continues to dissect this natural disaster, they must also focus on what aspects of this disaster weren't natural: It's unnatural to allow a football field worth of wetlands to be lost every half hour for years. It's unnatural to allow the warming of our oceans, and it is unnatural to be the only country on the planet not seriously addressing this global problem, despite the fact that we are the world's biggest contributor to global-warming pollution.

Katrina has left us with an unbearable amount of human suffering and new environmental problems to deal with, and could ultimately end up being the biggest environmental disaster ever in the United States -- but we must simultaneously deal with the larger issues, or risk the possibility that this storm will seem run-of-the-mill by mid-century.

Laurie David is a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council and founder of the Virtual March on Washington to Stop Global Warming.

Pegeen Hanrahan

The indelible images of human suffering in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina created a dramatic response from even ordinarily dispassionate observers. But for those who were actually left on rooftops, trapped in flooded homes, or herded to overcrowded shelters, the mental and emotional toll must be crushing. As the city works toward rebuilding, from the gracious historic districts to the poorest wards, a sense of self-determination and real public input into the process are critically important.

New Orleans and her citizens have endured horrific assaults, not only from nature, but also from government institutions, insensitive and ignorant critics, and unprepared public officials. A real opportunity to have a voice in how the city rebuilds would have a healing effect in reclaiming the community for the people who've made their lives there.

Once stabilized, the city should make every effort to allow the residents to design the recovery. Should the most flood-prone areas be reclaimed as created wetlands or water bodies? Should new affordable housing units be built above flood stage, with garages and other non-living spaces on the first floor? How can the city be prepared for an effective evacuation in future hurricane seasons? Well, I don't know. But the citizens of New Orleans do. The city should hold a series of public forums, door-to-door and phone surveys, online questionnaires, and other opportunities for residents to have a meaningful voice in what happens from here. For citizens from all walks of life to have a respected say in the solution will be empowering, and will lead to better results, both physically and emotionally.

Environmental engineer Pegeen Hanrahan is the mayor of Gainesville, Fla., and a fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program.

Richard Register

I have an "eco-city mapping system" that can reshape cities to harmonize with their local environments and our global future. I'd like to see it used. If it were, New Orleans would find and strengthen its most vital centers with more density and diversity. Like Native American cities along the Mississippi 500 years ago, much of it would be rebuilt on elevated platforms of fill. Levees don't work. If people were smart enough to create cities acting like islands in floods 500 years ago, why not today?

The map would show us where to focus development -- what to preserve and where to say, "OK nature, have your ways. The bayou can come back in these low places. We appreciate your biological, safety, and economic services."

Skip the cars this time. They take up far too much room for a city built on fill. They are ruining the climate system and biodiversity of the whole planet. It has to be a pedestrian city aided by bicycles and streetcars.

Front and side yards? Gone with the cars and replaced by graceful compact architecture like San Francisco's side-by-side high density. Several plazas would face out on the water. Steps and ramps down to the water would be artistic features in their own right. Some waterfront plazas and parks would flood in a hurricane surge -- no harm done. Bayous would come back. There would be bicycle and foot paths and streetcar lines to the neighborhoods reconfigured as island villages in the bay and among the mangroves. Nice!

Richard Register is president of Ecocity Builders, Inc., an educational and research nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Parris Glendening

The greatest danger facing New Orleans is that in the rush to rebuild, we will rebuild where it was, as it was.

If we practice business as usual, the rebuilding will be in areas that are certain to flood again, and we will repeat other old mistakes, such as segregating people by income and isolating them from jobs and prosperity in communities devoid of real hope. A different hope, a different vision, recognizes that some areas should not be rebuilt. Instead, let us imagine that these areas would be converted to a beautiful center core of green spaces, public places, and parks. Around this we could rebuild higher density, mixed use, smart-growth communities, essentially making it an Olmsted community of the 21st century. New Orleans could become the envy of the world as a fun, pedestrian-oriented, beautiful place.

To get there, we would need to compensate property owners for their losses; we'd have to revise building codes to strengthen existing structures and ensure the construction of new ones that can withstand minor flooding; and we would need to rewrite zoning ordinances to encourage compact communities. The whole process must be built on a true commitment to equity, fairness, and inclusion. For those who are saying we can't afford high-quality redevelopment, I say that we can't afford to spend billions of dollars to fuel the next natural, social, or economic disaster. Let's do the right thing! Let Frederick Olmsted smile at the 21st century implementation of his vision!

Parris Glendening was the governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. He serves on the board of Smart Growth America and as president of its Smart Growth Leadership Institute.

Cassandra Carmichael

In the Biblical creation story, God created the Earth, a world of connections: the air we breathe, the water we drink, the plants and animals we rely on for life. The world is about relationships -- between our human neighbors and between the other species with which we share this planet.

Connection is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of New Orleans. It is a city that is distinct in its culture and history, its food, its dialect, its people. But connection is what was on my heart as I returned to my hometown of New Orleans last week. As I spoke to local pastors and heard stories of loss and hope, I felt a deep bond.

While my connection is palpable, it may not be evident for others who have never set foot in bayou country. But the family trapped on the roof of their home by floodwaters is a member of our family. The dogs and cats wandering deserted streets are ours to care for. The toxic legacy that we have left behind, a result of our collective lifestyle choices, is ours to clean up. We have always been connected, one to another. No matter the economic divide or ethnic differences.

Scripture calls us to care for the world, for the "least of these." How we move forward, how we treat our "neighbor" and God's creation, will say how we honor our relationships and connections with each other and the world in which we live.

Cassandra Carmichael is the eco-justice program director for the National Council of Churches.