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Image Credit: Ibreville//Termé Choice Neighborhoods Initiative 

Amidst the celebration of Mardi Gras, one of the brightest spots on the New Orleans calendar, we are
looking at the status of affordable housing in the seven and half years following one of New Orleans's darkest chapters- the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. More than 204,000 homes in Orleans Parish were destroyed, leaving 800,000 residents homeless or displaced by the storm, with the greatest effects felt in primarily low-income and minority neighborhoods like the Ninth Ward. Some reports estimate that, between late 2005 and mid-2007, New Orleans's homeless population more than doubled to a rate three times the national average.

While post-Katrina New Orleans has seen much rebuilding- including a somewhat controversial gentrification movement that is shifting the city's demographic makeup, many homelessness coalitions and fair housing advocates are concerned that the demolition of public housing units in favor of mixed-income projects will provide little relief for the thousands who remain displaced. The mixed-income developments in the Iberville/Tremé neighborhood, part of HUD's Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, have developed ambitious goals for housing, the neighborhood, and the people of Iberville/Tremé, including cultural and historic preservation; one-for-one replacement of the 821 units of the previous public housing complex; infrastructure revitalization; and increased access to commercial, educational, and public health services. The project appears to encompass many of the advantages that supporters of mixed-income housing trumpet as the solutions to affordable housing crises, such as improved housing quality, neighborhood revitalization, enhancement of public goods and services, and people of diverse income groups living adjacent to one another. Likewise, the initiative could be fodder for mixed-income housing opponents, many of whom criticize the market-based approach as a hindrance to the government's ability to serve those most in need and perpetuates damaging "culture of poverty" stereotypes. What is impressive about the Iberville/Tremé project (and, indeed, many of the Choice Neighborhoods plans in other cities) is its holistic approach that purports to focus on the community's residents as much as the neighborhood's reconstruction and the commitment to a one-for-once replacement of public housing units in a city that has recently seen too many of these units destroyed by forces of nature and man-made wrecking balls.

Only time will tell if mixed-income redevelopment will play a meaningful role in the restoration of affordable housing to New Orleans. While these projects, much like any public-private partnership, present risks, the payoff may just lead to New Orleans neighborhoods that are more diverse, livable, and well-planned. Vive la différence? 

Note: Future entries will return to issues discussed in this post, including further examination of the HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative and the effects of another natural disaster- Hurricane Sandy- on affordable housing in the Northeast.