The news today will be the movies for tomorrow - Tucker Page

Obstinacy is the hallmark of post-disaster planning. Immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, Americans wanted to rebuild. Rather than ask how we could rebuild most effectively, however, public discourse was often dominated by people juvenilely asking how tall we would need to build a replacement building in order to sufficiently demonstrate the strength and perseverance of our country. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to build another skyscraper in New York City, but it took people some time to realize that “rebuilding” does not have to mean “replacing” – New York City had the opportunity to build something better than the World Trade Center.

Why is this relevant? Because faced with the daunting prospect of rebuilding, New Orleans seems more focused on replacing what was lost during Katrina rather than on reimagining what the city should be like. Of course, individuals cannot be blamed for wanting to rebuild their homes, especially those who have lived in New Orleans their entire lives and those who have deep cultural and community roots in the city. In addition, there are undoubtedly organizations in New Orleans that are pushing for fundamental social change. Therefore, I feel like I should refocus my critique onto the organization with which I am most familiar: city government.

After five weeks in City Hall, the lack of focus on the most fundamental issues facing the city is startling. Health Department meetings designed to address the future of New Orleans inevitably end with everyone agreeing that the department does not have the resources or the power to enact any fundamental social change and deciding to focus instead on surface problems that, while certainly easier to address, do nothing to change the reasons why those problems exist in the first place. At one meeting, for example, everyone agreed to focus on improving access to healthcare. But why do people lack access to healthcare? Lack of transportation, among other reasons. Why do people lack adequate transportation? Poverty. Why are people poor? For many individuals in New Orleans, in my opinion, centuries of racial discrimination. But there’s no way that the Health Department can begin to address racism and its legacy, or even poverty, for that matter. See the problem? Any intervention that the Health Department might conduct will inevitably focus on surface problems (e.g., lack of transportation) rather than the more important underlying problems (e.g., poverty) that, if not addressed, will continue to wreak havoc within the community.

The Health Department’s inability to address underlying social issues certainly is not for lack of trying. Everyone here would love to delve deeper into the root causes of New Orleans’s problems, but the resource simply aren’t available – time, personnel, and money (especially money) are all in short supply. Is it the mayor’s fault, then, for not coordinating a more comprehensive review of where New Orleans is going and what the city needs to do in order to rebuild better? I can’t say for sure – I have a feeling that the mayor’s office is just as swamped as the Health Department. Nevertheless, it’s a shame that the city may be rebuilt in the image of its troubled former self, problems and all. Fundamental change is difficult both to conceptualize and to carry out, but New Orleans has the unique opportunity to make itself a better city than it was before Katrina. I may just be a visitor here, but I would hate to see the city waste that opportunity.