Market forces will set pace of New Orleans' recovery, says expert

Published: 2006-03-09

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- The pace and extent of New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina will be decided in large measure by market forces, but it is too soon to know if the city's infrastructure will ever again support a pre-Katrina population of 485,000, a planning expert told officials of Catholic Charities USA during their visit to the Archdiocese of New Orleans March 4. "(Louisiana's) major city is indeed in a crisis," said Greg Rigamer, a New Orleans planner whose statistical models have been used to craft broad outlines for how billions of dollars in federal funds eventually may be allocated to flooded-out homeowners. "I think the recovery is beginning, but the city is at risk," he said. "The need for affordable housing is tremendous. Unless we come up with an intelligent solution to this, we will lose 40 to 50 percent of our population." Rigamer spoke to nearly three dozen members of the Catholic Charities USA board of trustees who visited the Gulf region for an update on recovery efforts since the Aug. 29, 2005, storm.

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