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Economic Development and Reconstruction on the Gulf After Katrina

R. Brian Smith

Georgia State University

Recovery from catastrophic disaster presents challenges in terms of the rebuilding of infrastructure, homes, and businesses, but it also presents opportunities to redevelop large tracts of land cleared by wind and flood or cleared as homes and businesses are moved away from hazardous areas. It is an opportunity to rethink the economic bases of damaged communities. The debates in Louisiana and Mississippi concern whether to focus on rebuilding damaged neighborhoods and communities much as they were pre-Katrina, albeit with some modifications to reduce vulnerability to wind and flood, or to use the opportunity created by the storm to redevelop neighborhoods and whole communities. In New Orleans, redevelopment may mean turning low-lying areas into parks and building a new transit system, education villages, and new business centers. In Mississippi, redevelopment, as suggested by new urbanists, may mean replacing damaged communities with resorts, golf courses, boat harbors, and other tourist attractions.

Key Words: Hurricane Katrina • Gulf Coast • recovery • redevelopment • disaster

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