At the culmination of two full days of interaction among residents, designers, artists, scientists, and community-based organizations, question marks resounded through the air: What are the next steps? How do we keep in contact about new information? How do we utilize the value of all the hard work and good ideas? What is going to be done with all of the recommendations that were prioritized? Outlined below are the initial responses to these concerns, as well as some actions that have been taken to fortify the intentions of the ReInhabiting NOLA workshops.
This final report was written as a record of the mandates and priorities, and will hopefully serve as a catalyst for others to get involved. To reach a larger audience, a website is also being developed that will be part of the Katrina information network service developed by Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research (www.kerrn.org). Both the physical document and its website companion are based on a foundation of respect for the time and energy participants put into the workshop. All participants will receive copies of the report and are encouraged to distribute them to others. Getting the word out, however, goes beyond publication. The final report will be presented to many of the rebuilding commissions responsible for policy decisions that will impact the future of the city.
An overarching principle of ReInhabiting NOLA was to establish solid relationships among a variety of participants so that a new network could be developed to address the challenges ahead with equity and creativity. In this regard, the contacts made at the workshop were an important achievement. However, for these new relationships to reach their full potential, it is imperative to stay in contact, maintain a dialogue, and enrich the circuits of communications.
A major collaborative follow-up to the ReInhabiting NOLA event was the ARKANSAS SUMMIT. Organized by two participants of ReInhabiting NOLA from Kansas State University and the University of Arkansas, the ARKANSAS SUMMIT established a new set of networks among members of the design, engineering, and documentary communities. Representatives of ReInhabiting NOLA, including the Neighborhood Story Project, University of New Orleans, the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research and the Tulane School of Architecture, presented the priorities developed at the workshop. Also in attendance were ACORN members, Design Corps, a variety of faculty members and students from the two sponsor schools, University of Kansas, and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA.
Through round table and informal discussions, support for several initiatives was fostered and techniques for implementing actual projects were discussed. A number of attendees returned to their respective institutions to drum up support for specific building projects in the coming calendar year. Since then, the University of Kansas has committed to working with Seventh Ward residents to design and build a neighborhood center in the spring and summer of 2006. They have two faculty members and two classes dedicated to this process and have already started fundraising in their community
to finance construction.
A significant portion of time at the ARKANSAS SUMMIT was spent strategizing how to support the DESIGNbuild Consortium of Schools. Based in New Orleans, this consortium will connect design programs throughout the country to building projects mandated by ReInhabiting NOLA. The subsequent projects would combine architectural, planning, and construction know-how with community knowledge and needs to build neighborhood centers, temporary and transitional housing, design centers, and higher density developments in the city to have an exponential impact on redevelopment. The consortium would also help renovate blighted properties into affordable housing.
The results of the conference have also complemented some pre-existing efforts that include: 1 the creation of the Tulane City Center, which is dedicated to creating a design-driven, environmentally responsible and socially conscious urban design agenda for New Orleans; 2 a grant application by Tulane School of Architecture (TSA) in partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans (NHSNO) to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As part of the Universities Rebuilding America Program, the grant would be
used to develop a two-year design and building platform aimed at producing neighborhood master plans, multifamily prototypes, single family prototypes and four built structures; 3 the Holy Ghost House, a single family house that was designed by TSA students in coordination with the NHSNO (and was to be built by a local contractor with help by students beginning Fall 2005), may become an early demonstration project located on a corner lot in Central City; 4 Ar-
chitectural Record, in partnership with TSA, has announced two International Competitions to generate housing proposals for New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The dual competitions are for a New Orleans House Prototype, which is open to current architecture students; and a High-Density on High-Ground project, which is open to everyone (visit www.archrecord.com); 5 the Six T’ Nine Social Aid and Pleasure Club organized a direct rebuild-
ing effort to assist a workshop participant, Ronald Lewis, with gutting his house in the Lower Ninth Ward. Ronald had called for volunteers at ReInhabiting NOLA and that call did not go unheeded. Architects, Planners, and Environmental Scientists rolled up their sleeves to work side-by-side with Lewis’ family.
ReInhabiting NOLA organizers are currently working to acquire additional funding so that more work can be done, more priorities can be realized, and more residents can return to New Orleans.