Destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina presented the opportunity — and the challenge — for New Orleans to revive its troubled public housing and integrate residents into the planning processes. This case study from the National Housing Institute describes one community development organization’s efforts to build trust between displaced residents and local social service providers, and offers lessons learned for other cities struggling to revitalize their public housing.
By the time her organization landed a contract to do work in
New Orleans, Sandra Moore had felt the city’s tug for more than a year.
Moore is president of Urban Strategies, a nonprofit community
development company that often partners with developer McCormack
Baron Salazar, which specializes in mixed-income and affordable
redevelopments. Urban Strategies got a contract in early 2007 to
provide services for residents from C.J. Peete, a shuttered New
Orleans public-housing complex.When she thought of New Orleans, Moore vividly recalled images
broadcast during the wake of Hurricane Katrina: New Orleanians
were pleading for water, medical help, and long-delayed buses to
take them out of the devastated city.
