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Jawan Fox
12-5-15
English 1001

Preface
There are several things I would improve on in this draft if I had two more weeks. I
would definitely add more about destruction of housing complexes. I would also talk
more about how the rent prices in New Orleans actually changed before and after
Katrina. I would also think I would expand my paper to include the impact
gentrification had on surrounding schools, but that probably is due to the
displacement of people. I would also go back and try to change some of the
sentence structure, and give the person I gave my paper to more time to revise it.

Bought Out

Since the devastation Hurricane Katrina caused on New Orleans in August of 2005, New
Orleans has quickly gotten to be one of the top transforming cities in the United States. "After
ten years, New Orleans, which took the brunt of the harm when the levees fizzled, submerging
80% of the city, is an immensely enhanced spot on numerous levels" (Jervis). The development
of low income areas is very controversy, in some areas it became to what is known as
gentrification. Gentrification happens when well-to-do or middle class families move to
customarily poor, more torn down neighborhoods and restore them. While the newcomers
effectively change the before lacking neighborhoods, their entry pushes low income residents
out. How has gentrification affected the housing opportunities for families in the New Orleans
area after Hurricane Katrina?

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Even though gentrification in New Orleans is now in its prime, the city has experienced a
comparative process before in the 1970s. The region turned into a hotspot for young
entrepreneurs because of its relatively cheap land. As a result of the city's area close to the
Mississippi River, many people ran to New Orleans for its expanding economic opportunity and
perfect living benefits. As the city developed more, the more people rushed into New Orleans.
New Orleans had gotten to be known as a working class city. The flock of new people led to the
gentrification of The Big Easys famous French Quarter, which quickly began to slow down late
in the century. The city development began to slow, the economic opportunity and living
conditions began to decline until a few years into the turn of the century.
In August 2005, at a time where the citys economy was struggling, Hurricane Katrina
made landfall through a significant part of the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, Louisiana. Hurricane
Katrina may not have been so devastating to New Orleans if the levees held. New comers
arrived in New Orleans to be a part of the citys renovation, many of whom first fell in love
with New Orleans as volunteers in the post-hurricane cleanup process, have brought with them
new small businesses and an infusion of private capital (Stanton). This was very predictable
because New Orleans is a very historic place, and located right next to the higher terrain of the
Mississippi River. The famous misusing of the Katrinas catastrophe funds from the federal
government allowed for officials to renovate New Orleans.
Growth has been concentrated along the Mississippi River as well as in the Central
Business District and in Mid- City where a $2-billon hospital complex is expected to attract even

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more residents in the next few years, (Hanley) .

(Richard Campanella) Figure 1

Richard Campanella explains his map he made

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Gentrification hot-spots today may be found along the fringes of what I have (somewhat
jokingly) dubbed the white teapot, a relatively wealthy and well-educated majority-white area
shaped like a kettle (see Figure 1) in uptown New Orleans, around Audubon Park and Tulane and
Loyola universities, with a curving spout along the St. Charles Avenue/Magazine Street corridor
through the French Quarter and into the Faubourg Marigny and Bywater. Comparing 2000 to
2010 census data, the teapot has broadened and internally whitened, and the changed mostly
involve gentrification. (Campanella)
The combination of new comers boosting the economy increased funding from the local,
state, and federal governments grants have allowed New Orleans to see a generous change in
some aspects. New Orleans is totally being changed new bikes lanes have been built, massive
redevelopment projects are underway, and commercial areas like Broad Street in Mid- City
which once were the home to liquor stores and check cashing joints, now have boutique tea
shops, gourmet restaurants and upscale grocery stores,(Stanton). This can correspond with the
time the young predominantly white class arriving in the Big Easy after Katrina.
Lower income locals stress that continued gentrification will be the cause of there
departure from New Orleans. Rent costs in the city have shot up since Katrina making hardships,
harder, for some battling families." The middle rent in the city ascended by 25 percent
somewhere around 2004 and 2012- - from $688 to $861 very month on existing leases- - and the
rate of leaseholders who spend more than 50 percent of their wage on lodging ascended from 24
to 36 percent in the same period" (Hanley). Some even feel as if gentrifying New Orleans is an
approach to decrease the city's African American population in New Orleans. Since 2005, New
Orleans has " 97,000 less African Americans living in the city than before Katrina, as indicated

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by The Data Center" (Jervis). There is no way to actually know why there was a decrease in the
African American population in the city, but we can infer that a portion of this was due to
gentrification as we can see in figure 1. The massive redevelopment in the area causes for
property taxes to go up but also the property value. For the first time in about 35 years, New
Orleans is now thriving in tourism more than ever before
One of the most known changes connected with the city gentrifying is the obliteration of
New Orleans housing projects. This controversial move couldn't have happen had it not been for
the pulverization brought on by Hurricane Katrina. "The zenith was a stunning City Council
hearing at which the individuals voted consistently to annihilate every one of the 4,500 units of
the "Big Four public housing complexes: St. Bernard, B.W. Cooper, Lafitte, and C.J. Peete"
(Gratz). Destroying these buildings dispensed space for development of a mixed income salary
neighborhoods and new restaurants. While the change made newer and more secure homes
available, it also, left a lot of people homeless. Previous residents of the housing projects, saw
this as a proof that the low income families were not welcomed back.
Public- Housing opportunities has diminished post Katrina. Many of the low income
homes have been sold for a cheaper price then renovated. The renovation of a home especially in
a low income areas truly effects the property value in the surrounding area. Areas such as St.
Roch, has seen a tremendous from the turn of the century to 2015. Many homes were turned into
duplexes which are most of the time used for vacation homes, but some people in New Orleans
seen this as an opportunity for low priced housing. The most historic areas that are being
gentrified are pushing local residents out due to the high property taxes. Vacation homes and

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other tourist attractions has taken the place of low income housing like the projects, that is
affecting the housing opportunity of the locals who were trying to return to New Orleans.
New Orleans natives believe that continued gentrification of their hometown is leading to
the extinction of an extremely unique culture. Natives of New Orleans made the city what it is;
known for is tremendous charisma, integration of jazz music, delicious foods, and beloved
festivals. In the midst of rebuilding and people relocating, locals worry that these traits may not
be retained among younger generations. This change has come in generally historic areas of the
city, surrounding the iconic French Quarter. Rather than giving financing to urban zones, for a
considerable length of time New Orleans pioneers contributed its cash in repairing lodgings and
vacation destinations. Despite the fact that the Crescent City's economy flourishes from the cash
it produces from tourism, the absence of financing for low-salary neighborhoods is segregating
the city.

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Works Cited
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=4f1bd2bb7e474aeabbe403aee156c550%40sessionmgr198&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2Z
SZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=103036099&db=a9h
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003526-gentrification-and-its-discontents-notesnew-orleans
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/09/gentrification_new_orleans_cri.html

http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/is-post-katrina-gentrification-saving-new-orleansor-destroy#.mcekPR9X5

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/08/22/new-orleans-katrina-rebuildingchanges/31417279/

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=ca99fc48-daad-432b-aae4b8008fe15dbc
%40sessionmgr4003&vid=5&hid=4112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaX
Rl#AN=99122767&db=a9h