To me, New Orleans is a parable, but of the future, not the past. It was founded about 50 years before most American cities and about 150 years ago it was one of the largest, wealthiest cities in North America. Today, it's a civilization on the brink of extinction due to severe economic, social, and environmental strain. Perhaps New Orleans is simply a few decades ahead of the rest of us. Perhaps it's a glimpse into our future.This possibility is what drew me to New Orleans, the hope that if we could secure civilization in this place, then humanity might have a better chance of surviving everywhere else. After spending six months there, the real problem became evident. No solution could sustain itself without fully addressing the social, economic, and environmental crises simultaneously.
Brad Pitt's Make It Right project tackles the environmental issues head on, but turns a deaf ear to cultural iconography and economic reality. The Global Green projects suffers the same fate. To no surprise, both of these projects, despite gigantic press and financial backing, have only complete one house in the last two years.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Lafitte Housing Project. HUD saw the wake of Katrina as an opportunity to improve the quality of affordable housing in the city. So they opted to demolish thousands of apartments that were relatively unaffected by the floods with plans to rebuild improved ones in their place. The real issue, which caused city wide riots, is that this was a long term solution to a short term problem. And so, homelessness in New Orleans continues to rise as FEMA trailer parks close. HUD's solution approached the economics of the situation, but at the expense of social welfare. In their three years of efforts, they have only just begun demolition.
My efforts were staggeringly humble. Out of pure necessity and an utter lack of funding, I was forced to find ways for residents to do the work themselves. I designed very few houses and spent most of my time establishing guidelines, writing template contracts, automating construction documents via BIM and shape grammar, and generating stock, pre-engineered, city approved details. I can't point to any one physical object and say it was created by my hand, but I can say my actions resulted in the construction or renovation over 60 homes in just 6 months.
The lesson I learned is that a culture, as it attempts to harmonize with an environment, can be guided toward economic sustainability, but not forced. Sustainability is, in no uncertain terms, a natural order.
