Rebuild New Orleans?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Apparently, Hastert doesn't think that we should. :roll:

 

I can't stand when people put money ahead of people's lives and homes. New Orleans was home to many many people. You HAVE to rebuild it.

 

I hope Hastert's home burns down, so people can say, "nope, we shouldn't rebuild it."

 

Maybe he is thinking of peoples' lives. One of the reasons I'm not keen on rebuilding is that I don't want to see a bunch of people killed again. Now if we can come up with a 100% guaranteed foolproof containment system then maybe it would be OK to rebuild, otherwise I say stay out.

 

So should we halt all building of new homes and industries along the fault lines in California?

 

Should we no longer build along the coasts of Florida as well?

[NCCubFan]

I think it should be rebuilt, but done right. I've only visited New Orleans once (in 1999), but plan to again sometime (although I now expect it to be several years). The French Quarter, Mardi Gras, the steamboats on the Mississippi, etc. are too important and unique to America to not rebuild. We can't give in to Mother Nature. As far as the cost is concerned, some of it could perhaps be paid by taxes on admissions to tourist attractions. I think most tourists would be willing to pay a bit more to help pay for the rebuilding if they realize the alternative is to not rebuild and lose those attractions forever.

[frostwyrm]

I hope I don't sound offensive, but I've been to New Orleans, and this sentimental talk about the French Quarter, Bourbon St, and Mardi Gras doesn't carry much weight with me. These places had already morphed into crass tourist traps long ago. The authentic history of the places was already overwhelmed by the commercialism. Now the original buildings are largely destroyed and we're talking creating about a cheesy Disneyworld type copy, which will just be another tacky tourist trap, only completely phony this time, and it will cost several hundred billion tax dollars to do it. This strikes me as misguided sentimentality, and a guaranteed recipe for buyer's remorse.

[CDBears1259]

As a native of Louisiana and living only 60 miles to the west of New Orleans, I find the mere mention of the thought to be an incredible affront. I can't say more beyond that right now, because I need time to digest all that's been said in this thread before commenting further. Excuse me but this is an incredibly touchy subject. In short though: IT MUST BE RESTORED!!! And contrary to what most think, not all of New Orleans is a total loss. The city will not have to be entirely rebuilt.

[Careless]

How often do the Low Countries have to deal with category 5 hurricanes?

8-[

Send a katrina at amsterdam and there would be huge damage.

[J.R.]

How often do the Low Countries have to deal with category 5 hurricanes?

8-[

Send a katrina at amsterdam and there would be huge damage.

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

Folks, the culture of New Orleans is destroyed. Something similar may come back in its place, but too many are dead or moving away permanently for the city to ever be the same.

 

Experts say the Mississippi River would be healthier if it were allowed to reclaim its original tract. I think the greater good would be served if the city were rebuilt in a manner respecting the reality of its position. Sure, there are other dangerous places to live, but none is as precarious and silly as putting a coastal metroplex below sea level, between two massive bodies of water.

[frostwyrm]

People should realize that it will take several years to drain the city, perform all the demo work, AND get a new containment system in place that can withstand the strongest hurricanes. Meanwhile people will have gotten on with their lives and businesses will have relocated. How many people will even want to return? Will it really be worth the enormous expense, after all the old inhabitants have put down roots elsewhere?

[AC036198]

New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz. I hope it is rebuilt. Chicago and New Orleans are great places for Jazz. I need Jazz or else I'll go insane.

[frostwyrm]

It is a given that a new containment system that can withstand a category 5 hurricane must be in place before rebuilding begins. No homeowner or businessperson would be foolish enough to start building before then.

 

The preliminary steps to construct a new containment system:

 

1)Congress will debate how to proceed

2)if rebuilding is a go, funding must be secured in Congress

3)proposals must be formulated and submitted by various engineering firms

4)proposals will be reviewed carefully and one will be accepted

5)Congress may want to sign off on the final proposal

5)Bids must be solicited from contractors

6)Submitted bids will be reviewed and contracts awarded.

 

I'm not sure how long these steps should take. Maybe 2 years?

 

7)the new containment system must actually be built

 

Another 2 years?

 

8)with the new containment system in place, the actual rebuilding of the city can start.

 

3 years?

 

 

Of course this is all guesswork on my part, but it looks to me like rebuilding is going to be longer and tougher than people think.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

[frostwyrm]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

 

What people of New Orleans? By the time the city is ready to be inhabited again the residents will have spent years in homes and careers elsewhere. At that point there won't be a "people of New Orleans". I really think this is going to be a permanent move for the great majority of the people who have been displaced.

[UK1679666180]

I can't believe I'm defending that local windbag (Hastert), but I didn't take it as "should we rebuild New Orleans", but they should rebuild it properly, if not, this tragedy can occur again.

 

But, they definitely should rebuild the city.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

 

What people of New Orleans? By the time the city is ready to be inhabited again the residents will have spent years in homes and careers elsewhere. At that point there won't be a "people of New Orleans". I really think this is going to be a permanent move for the great majority of the people who have been displaced.

 

You apparently are unaware of the resolve and links to that area that many natives of New Orleans feel.

[frostwyrm]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

 

What people of New Orleans? By the time the city is ready to be inhabited again the residents will have spent years in homes and careers elsewhere. At that point there won't be a "people of New Orleans". I really think this is going to be a permanent move for the great majority of the people who have been displaced.

 

You apparently are unaware of the resolve and links to that area that many natives of New Orleans feel.

 

After those natives have been gone for 5-7 years, ask them if they want to chuck their new jobs and homes to return to NO, after having left under extremely unpleasant circumstances. No doubt SOME will want to return, but I'm guessing you overestimate their number. There's a strong tendency to inertia in the average person's life. People will be gone long enough to get into a happy rut in their new homes. I think occasional trips to the city will be enough to satisfy the average person's sentimentality.

[CDBears1259]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

 

What people of New Orleans? By the time the city is ready to be inhabited again the residents will have spent years in homes and careers elsewhere. At that point there won't be a "people of New Orleans". I really think this is going to be a permanent move for the great majority of the people who have been displaced.

 

You apparently are unaware of the resolve and links to that area that many natives of New Orleans feel.

 

After those natives have been gone for 5-7 years, ask them if they want to chuck their new jobs and homes to return to NO, after having left under extremely unpleasant circumstances. No doubt SOME will want to return, but I'm guessing you overestimate their number. There's a strong tendency to inertia in the average person's life. People will be gone long enough to get into a happy rut in their new homes. I think occasional trips to the city will be enough to satisfy the average person's sentimentality.

While I know it will be some time before things are back to anything resembling the New Orleans I know and love, 5-7 years seems like an awfully arbitrary time frame. One, by the way, I think you overestimate.

[frostwyrm]

While I know it will be some time before things are back to anything resembling the New Orleans I know and love, 5-7 years seems like an awfully arbitrary time frame. One, by the way, I think you overestimate.

 

5 yrs. is a very low estimate IMO. NO will not be rebuilt as quickly as a city in California because the new containment system must be completed before any sane person will even consider breaking ground on new contruction projects, so you have to add a few extra years to any estimate. If another hurricane hits the city before the new containment system is finished you may have to tack on another year or two.

[AC036198]

Hell will freeze over if New Orleans is gone. Jazz ain't the same w/o it. Same would happen if Chicago were blown apart. Jazz would never be the same if Chicago and/or New Orleans are gone. I hope New Orleans is rebuilt.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

For the most part, the levees still exist. There were three main breeches in the levee system, the largest being the 17th street breech on the levee holding back Lake Pontchatrain.

 

The levee system surrounding the oldest part of the city along the Mississippi River held. There was a smaller breach along the Inter-coastal canal.

 

Those levees could be repaired quite easily. That would give the city protection equal to what existed before..ie protection against a Cat 3 hurricane. While I think they will want stronger levees that that, most would likely return while those levees are upgraded.

 

What will take the longest, is actually the environmental clean-up. It's going to take 80 days or so to dry out the city. Then the water lines will need to be flushed and repaired and the power grid restored. At that point, we'll be able to truly assess the damages to buildings and homes. The French Quarter itself seems to be in relatively decent condition from the reports I'm getting. Other parts of the city not so much. The bridges across Pontchatrain and the I-10 interchange will need to be repaired.

 

My guess is that French Quarter residents could be back sooner than later, but I think 5-7 years is extremely on the long side of the estimate.

 

The people will return. Maybe not all of them, but they will.

[frostwyrm]

Those levees could be repaired quite easily. That would give the city protection equal to what existed before..ie protection against a Cat 3 hurricane. While I think they will want stronger levees that that, most would likely return while those levees are upgraded.

 

Put yourself in the shoes of a businessman or homebuyer looking to return to New Orleans after the water is drained. Now that you've seen what a cat 4 hurricane can do, would you invest hundreds of thousands or in some cases many millions of dollars to construct or repair a building before a new containment system is built - one can that withstand a cat 5 hurricane? How could you justify such a reckless decision to stockholders or family members? I certainly could not, nor do I think many other people could.

 

Another question - what bank would be foolish enough to issue loans to people reckless enough to rebuild before a better containment system is in place? How about insurance? I can't see how rebuilding can begin with the same crappy levies.

[CDBears1259]

Those levees could be repaired quite easily. That would give the city protection equal to what existed before..ie protection against a Cat 3 hurricane. While I think they will want stronger levees that that, most would likely return while those levees are upgraded.

 

Put yourself in the shoes of a businessman or homebuyer looking to return to New Orleans after the water is drained. Now that you've seen what a cat 4 hurricane can do, would you invest hundreds of thousands or in some cases many millions of dollars to construct or repair a building before a new containment system is built - one can that withstand a cat 5 hurricane? How could you justify such a reckless decision to stockholders or family members? I certainly could not, nor do I think many other people could.

 

Another question - what bank would be foolish enough to issue loans to people reckless enough to rebuild before a better containment system is in place? How about insurance? I can't see how rebuilding can begin with the same crappy levies.

 

The same banks and like-minded loan officers that grant loans to people who insist on rebuilding in other natural disaster zones like California and Florida.

As for the businessman and homebuyer issue, I think you underestimate the value of the area to those with such an entreprenurial spirit and their very spirit for that matter. As long as the area is considered tourist hotspot (and it will be again at some point, probably within the 5-7 yrs. you estimate) it will attract the business minded. It's a matter of risk/reward. It's a gamble of course, but life indeed is a gamble. I get the feeling your not much of a gambler.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Those levees could be repaired quite easily. That would give the city protection equal to what existed before..ie protection against a Cat 3 hurricane. While I think they will want stronger levees that that, most would likely return while those levees are upgraded.

 

Put yourself in the shoes of a businessman or homebuyer looking to return to New Orleans after the water is drained. Now that you've seen what a cat 4 hurricane can do, would you invest hundreds of thousands or in some cases many millions of dollars to construct or repair a building before a new containment system is built - one can that withstand a cat 5 hurricane? How could you justify such a reckless decision to stockholders or family members? I certainly could not, nor do I think many other people could.

 

Another question - what bank would be foolish enough to issue loans to people reckless enough to rebuild before a better containment system is in place? How about insurance? I can't see how rebuilding can begin with the same crappy levies.

 

Those "crappy" levees existed just fine for many, many years. There's just as strong a liklihood that a massive earthqauke takes out LA or SF and yet they still loan businesses money to build there.

 

Based on your logic, we should stop building along the fault lines on the West Coast until they can erect a system that would protect all those people and lives as well.

 

We should also stop building on Miami because that area has been hit by more hurricanes than the Louisiana gulf coast.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Would we be having this debate if an earthquake leveled a California city?

 

Did we have this debate when Andrew leveled parts of south Florida?

 

It's ridiculous. The city should be rebuilt. To not do so is an affront to the people of New Orleans and the citizens of Louisiana.

 

I don't think Andrew is a fair comparison, since it didn't devastate as many people or hit as big a city.

 

And we likely would be having this debate if an earthquake leveled LA or one of the big cities in Nor Cal, just based on the tremendous costs rebuilding would entail.

[EricG]

they should rename it New New Orleans

[Roast]

they should rename it New New Orleans

 

Newer Orleans, IMO.

[AC036198]

Not funny at all. I will die if New Orleans is not rebuilt. It is the birthplace of Jazz, and I cannot live w/o Jazz. Chicago jazz is no good. New Orleans jazz is the best.