Living with Water in the Era of Climate Change: Lessons from the Lafitte Greenway in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Billy Fields, Jeffrey Thomas & Jacob A. Wagner

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APA
Fields, B. , Thomas, J. & Wagner, J. A. (1). Living with Water in the Era of Climate Change: Lessons from the Lafitte Greenway in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 37(3), 309–321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X16655600

Keywords
Capital Facilities , Environment , Global Context Of Planning , Infrastructure , LA , New Orleans , Sustainability

Abstract
The research examines the shift from flood-resistant policies and plans to flood resilience. We use a case study of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina to illustrate this unfolding process and the emergence of a "living with water" approach to green infrastructure. The article highlights the challenges of this shifting policy landscape through the case of the Lafitte Greenway, a green infrastructure project that transformed a three-mile corridor of underutilized public land into a linear park running through flood-prone neighborhoods. Through the experience of creating this greenway, planners in New Orleans learned valuable lessons about US disaster rebuilding policies and how to implement green infrastructure in urban neighborhoods.