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Public Review of New Orleans‚Äö?Ñ????ë?????´?????¬¥?¬¨¬®‚Äö?Ñ¬¢ Draft Plan Begins04-15-09 | News

Public Review of New Orleans’ Draft Plan Begins

One focus of the vision plan for New Orleans is rehabilitating and redevelopment of blighted and vacant sites, such as this property in the Ninth Ward.

Vision for 2030 Is Inspiring, but Whence the Funding?

In fall 2008, the city of New Orleans set out to “frame a vision for their city in 2030 and to define the tools they would need to get there.”

Unlike past plans, this one, according to the draft plan’s executive summary, “reinforces its vision with the force of law and has brought citizens together to shape a common agenda for each neighborhood and for the city as a whole.”

A series of 10 district meetings to review the first draft of New Orleans’ proposed master plan is underway.

Consultants have proposed more green space and streetcars for New Orleans. These streetcars run down the middle of the roadway in the historic Garden District.

Consultants have proposed more green space and streetcars. Among myriad proposals is to replace Interstate 10-Claiborne Avenue Expressway with a tree-lined “urban boulevard”; revive Canal Street theater district; create landscaped open canals and “urban wetlands” to beautify the city, while reducing flooding risks; expanding streetcar lines and bicycle paths; and making “green options” standard practice in planning and zoning decisions.

After the team of consultants working on the master plan have finalized the plans, the city planning commission will hold official hearings, probably in July, then send it to the city council. The council will then have 90 days to adopt, reject or propose changes to the plan.

Among the broad plans are these initiatives:

Focus on rehabilitation and redevelopment of blighted and vacant sites.
Accelerate resettlement of neighborhoods.
Achieve densities that provide the critical mass needed to support local commercial districts, parks, schools and services.
Create new transit-ready centers and focusing development at transit hubs—all built with design that reinforces neighborhood quality and character.
Create a housing trust fund and advisory committee to put the city in control of how and where it provides affordable/workforce housing.
Address “nuisance businesses” and properties that put neighborhoods at risk.
Create an innovative historic preservation plan for a living multicultural city.
Create a combined city parks and recreation agency with dedicated funding, with the goal of a park within walking distance of every resident.
Restore and enhance the city’s urban forest.
Create greenways connecting neighborhoods to community destinations.
Foster walkable, mixed-use redevelopment.
Tailor zoning to support the unique character of neighborhood commercial districts.