Fall 2011 Thesis Proposal

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward:

///a new infrastructural network intervention

LaQuinton Nimox Thesis Fall 2011

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[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward:

///a new infrastructural network intervention

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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[Thesis Advisor] [Committee Chair] [Committee Members]

Jori Erdman Ursula Emery McClure, Associate Architecture Professor David Bertolini, Associate Architecture Professor and Graduate Coordinator Dr. Clint Wilson, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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“New Orleans is the product of ongoing interaction between engineering intentions and the dynamic natural processes of the Mississippi Delta. The delta is a landscape in flux, and our engineering interventions haven’t stopped its fluctuation; instead, the forces of change have been redirected in ways that we didn’t expect.”

-Jane Wolff, director of landscape architecture at University of Toronto

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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Contents

Intent......................................................................5 Abstract..................................................................7 Outline...................................................................12 Project Development...........................................14 Bibliography..........................................................37

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Intent

This thesis explores the idea of a new urbanism for the 17th Ward of New Orleans. When New Orleans was confined to the Mississippi River’s natural levees, the city drained to Lake Pontchartrain by gravity. Currently, New Orleans’ very livelihood is based on numerous engineered infrastructural networks to either confine the city from the water with levees and floodwalls or to dispel water out through pumping stations and canals. While representing man’s attempt of control of nature, the confinement of the river’s natural processes has made for unexpected consequences and the constant maintenance of these systems.

This current strategy of water management against possible flooding has increased vulnerability for neighborhoods juxtaposed to these outfall canals, caused subsidence of the very ground the system has allowed to be settled, and separated ecology and urbanism. New Orleans needs a new infrastructural network that addresses these issues with the embodied logic of high-ground habitation and is sustained by natural and artifical processes of water management and other sustainable strategies.

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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“Architecture does not so much intrude on a landscape as it serves to explain it.”

-Steven Holl, Anchoring (1989)

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Abstract

Although a city surrounded by water, water is not a part of everyday life in New Orleans. New Orleans’ means of survival operates on the premise of its numerous flood protection systems: internal, external, frontage, and parallel.

With New Orleans’ unique bowl-shaped section, its drainage system is treated strictly as a flood control operation consisting of canals and pumps that collectively store and push the water out. Levees and surge control structures act as the city’s external flood protection with the strategy of keeping water out with canal levee walls and floodgates acting as the parallel and frontage protections, respectively.

The city’s existing pumping capacity is insufficient and plans for improvements by the Corps of Engineers will slightly increase the capacity of this internal flood protection system. Five main pump stations are responsible for the majority of the city’s drainage, a watershed of over 40 square miles of the city. Three of these pump stations are located on the city’s outfall canals that displace water from the city into Lake Pontchartrain.

These outfalls canals are designed in combination with the pumping stations to raise collected storm water up to the level of the Lake Pontchartrain, for nearly two miles in most cases. These floodwalls are significant risk to the city, allowing water in the canals to be raised to levels well above surrounding homes. Surrounding neighborhoods’ vulnerability to storm surge is also represented through the precarious nature of channeling the water to the lake.

This concentration of water out of the city through its internal flood protection system is cutoff from surrounding neighborhoods creating an engineered barrier between people, architecture, and water. Neighbors cannot see the water, and, in many cases, cannot cross the canals for distances up to a mile.

External Flood Protection…

The implementation of these flood protection systems has dramatically changed the natural environment and the culture of the New Orleans area.

Loss of wetlands, subsidence, loss of plant and animal species have greatly been influenced by this separation of infrastructure and architecture from ecology.

The problem with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is that it only addresses the control and use of the river first, and ignores the effects their modifications have on the River environment. The city will remain vulnerable to flooding unless it expands it ability to accommodate water safely.

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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My architectural plan is a new urbanism for New Orleans, one that embodies the logic of high-ground habitation and is sustained by natural and artificial processes of water management and other sustainable strategies. The project is located in New Orleans, along the 17th Street Canal, where subsidence rates, storm surge, heavy rainfall, and eventually sea level rise all pose threats to the very life of the city’s inhabitants. The proposal is to embrace New Orleans’ watery future by setting up a new landscape with which to propose an accommodating architectural negotiation with constant flooding of the New Orleans area. It will present a post-diluvian landscape where flooding is considered not only as an amenity but also as an everyday part of life. The design of this proposed intervention of New Orleans will augment water management processes already active in the city that remain below the threshold of spatial detection. It will accommodate water rather than attempt to domesticate nature and as a result, replenish the soil composition, elevate the water table, and contribute to wetland restoration.

The final project will blur the boundaries, barriers, and thresholds between ecology and urbanism through what Ken Yeang calls a “seamless biointegration of infrastructures ( Yeang 2009, p.9).” This reactivation of the boundary between Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish will be accomplished through the introduction of new infrastructural strategies that work with the existing system. Therefore, over time this new strategy will aggregate through the city forming a high-ground habitation hub that treats water not as an amenity but also as a valuable resource. The barriers that separate man and nature will be reduced with the overlay of functional and landscape areas.

The site is envisioned as a uplifted large scale plane that takes advantage of the fact that 65% of the city’s storm water is drained in some form or fashion through the 17th Street Canal. The design will act as a water collection and purification zone of the city through bioremediation beneath the living plane.

This area will become a place where a majority of the city’s water goes and is returned back into surrounding neighborhoods for human consumption, constructing wetlands, and normal daily use. The proposal calls for several infrastructural axes takes on a programmatic category: civic, production, and recreation. The civic axis is composed of residential and commercial areas blended with micro-ecologies that hold water and filters it on site before it is allows to enter the local water management system. The production axis acts as two intersecting corridors where the city’s water is brought to be purified

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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and treated through artificial and natural processes, such as sand filtration and bioremediation.

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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Research Outline I. Mississippi River System

a. Mississippi River History Timeline

b. Mississippi River Commission

i. Upper Mississippi Valley Sub commission

ii. Lower Mississippi Valley Sub commission

c. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers II. New Orleans Hurricane Protection System

a. Levee

b. Floodwalls III. New Orleans Settlement

a. An European City

b. An American Commercial City

c. Occupied Union Territory

d. Reshaping the Land in the Early 20th Century

e. Late 20th Century and Early 21st Century IV. New Orleans Internal Flood Protection System

a. Drainage Pump Stations

i. Constant Drainage Stations and Emergency Stations

b. Drainage Outfall Canals

i. 17th Street Canal

ii. Orleans Avenue Canal

iii. London Avenue Canal

c. Drainage Basin One

i. Soil Types

ii. Topography

iii. Drainage basin boundaries

iv. Neighborhoods V. New Orleans External Flood Protection System

a. Mississippi River Levee System

b. Lake Ponchartrain Levee System

c. Outfall Canal System VI. 17th Ward Neighborhoods

a. West End

i. Socioeconomic Status

ii. Historical Context

b. Hollygrove

i. Socioeconomic Status

ii. Historical Context

c. West Carrolton

i. Socioeconomic Status

ii. Historical Context VII. Possible Architectural Interventions

a. Architecture of Resilience

b. Architecture of Resistance

c. Architecture of Acceptance

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

Project Development

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[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

River Commerce & Governance

1730

1720

1710

1690

1680

Destruction from floods leads to the beginning of Mississippi River Commission

Father Marquette and Louis Joliet, set out to explore the river

French mistake river as Northwest Passage

French le French Settle New Orleans First levee built

Quapaw and Osage fall due to smallpox epidemic

Most of the land east of the River was covered with mixed hardwood and deciduous forests

Mississippian mound-builders disappear

1670

1660

1650

1640

1630

The Mississippi River’s potential of commerce and trade, as well as flooding and devastation is discovered

1700

Hernando De Soto and Spanish explorers discover river

River Potential

1620

1590

1580

1570

1560

1550

1540

1530

1520

1510

1500

Native American Mississippian, a mound-building culture, flourished

The Mississippi River’s potential of commerce and trade, as well as flooding and devastation is discovered

1610

River Discovery

Prehistoric inhabitants of North America who constructed earthen mounds for burial, residential and ceremonial purposes.

1600

Mound-Builders

800

15

La Salle claimed the River basin in the name of France and named it Louisiana

IL WI

IA

MN

uppe r lower

MO

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Secretary of War

Columbia Hickman

KY

uppe r lower

e

vill

ton

Tip

LA

rie

ve

Re

is

ph

TN

AR

em

M

ez Natch

Vick sbu rg

Gre env

ille

MS

Tun ica

This infographic attempts to synthesize the abundant amount of research on the Mississippi History and how the Army Corps of Engineers influence this landscape in flux.

4

th

_busiest port in world and busiest in United States-Port of New Orleans

1882 1844 1914 1928 1942-1972 1973

11%

_percentage of U.S. petroleum reserve produced by the state

Roadway Addition

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio Evolution of Mississippi River Levees

Flood-1890

Flood-1937 Flood-1903

Flood-1882

Flood-1922 1938 Flood Control Act Flood-1927

Flood-1896

Jetty system completed Mississippi River Commission created Flood-1898

First Steamboat River Commercialization

Flood-1874 and Warren Commission Report

2040

2030

2020

2010

2000

1990

1980

1970

1960

1950

1940

1930

1920

1910

1900

Levee lines reach Arkansas Flood-1829 Army Corp of Engineers created Federal regulation of river navigation

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Environmental degradation from river construction and alterations leads to new policies to protect the Mississippi River

1890

1880

1870

1860

1850

1840

1830

1820

1810

1790

1780

1770

1760

1800

evee ordinance

Envrionment Response

War time commerce and flood events leads to reactionary policies to institute river engineering and construction

Destruction from floods leads to reactionary policies increasing more engineering

1750

1740

Construction Era

Floods & Policies

ACE environmental regulatory program Flood-1973 National Environmental Policy Act

Flood-1993 Navigation Study Restructured

1928 Flood Control Act

1905 Rivers and Harbors Act-promoted dredging instead of structures

2/5

_Amount of U.S.’s landmass drained by the Mississippi River System

2,350

_Length of river in miles from its source to the Gulf of Mexico

Seattle

Portland

WASH. MONT.

ME.

N.D.

MINN. VT.

ORE.

Minneapolis IDAHO

N.H. WIS.

Omaha

NEB.

Las Vegas

San Jose

UTAH

Denver

ILL.

Colorado Springs

Los Angeles

Wichita

ARIZ.

Anaheim Santa Ana

Mesa

Tuscon El Paso

Columbus

MD.

DEL.

W.V.

VA.

N.C.

Nashville Memphis

32

TENN.

S.C.

ARK. MISS.

ALA.

GA.

LA.

Austin

FLA.

Tampa

Sources: Levees.org, FEMA THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

Houston

_Amount in tons of average sediment load per day

KY.

Tulsa

Dallas

436

Washington D.C.

Cincinnati

St. Louis

N.J.

TEXAS

Fort Worth Arlington

Phoenix

Indianapolis

MO.

Oklahoma City N.M.

San Diego

OKLA.

Albuquerque

Pittsburgh

OHIO

IND.

Boston

R.I. CONN.

PA.

Toledo

IOWA

Kansas City

KAN.

Fresno

MASS.

Detroit

NEV. CO.

N.Y.

MICH.

WY.

CALIF.

Oakland

Long Beach

S.D.

New Orleans Miami

U.S. county with levees City with more than 300,000 people that contains a levee

_Number of states that are drained by the river and its tributaries including two Canadian provinces, an territory of 1.2 million square miles

3rd _Longest river in North America _Drainage basin in the world

19%

Louisiana

_percentage of U.S. natural gas reserve produced by the state

156

_Number of millions of people who live in counties with levees

37/64 _number of parishes in Louisiana that contain levees. 75% of the state’s population live in these parishes

New Orleans

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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New Orleans Development

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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22

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_1798: _1798: An An European European City City France France governed governed New New Orleans Orleans for for five five decades decades before before ceding ceding all all of of Louisiana Louisiana to to Spain Spain in in 1863 1863 to to keep keep itit out out of of British British hands. hands. Spain Spain later later gave gave the the territory territory back back to to France France just just two two years years before before Napoleon Napoleon sold sold itit to to the the United States States in in 1803.

1803. The The city city remained remained culturally culturally and and United economically aa French French city city throughout throughout the the 18th 18th economically century. A A French French city city with with slaves: slaves: by by the the end end of of the the century. century more more than than half half the the population population was was black. black. And And century everyone clustered clustered around around the the river; river; the the backswamp backswamp everyone between New New Orleans Orleans and and Lake Lake Pontchartrain Pontchartrain was was between inhabited mostly mostly by by mosquitoes. mosquitoes. inhabited

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_1849: _1849: An An American American Commerical Commerical City City Following Following the the Louisiana Louisiana Purchase, Purchase, the the first first census census to to include include New New Orleans Orleans in in 1810 1810 documented documented its its place place as as the the fifth fifth largest largest city city in in the the United United States States and and largest largest settlement settlement west west of of the the Appalachians.

Appalachians. Andrew Andrew Jackson Jackson made made his his national national reputation reputation defending defending the the city city in in the the Battle Battle of of New New Orleans--two Orleans--two weeks weeks after after the the treaty treaty that that ended ended the the War War of of 1812 1812 was was signed. signed. Following Following the the battle, battle, New New Orleans Orleans with with its its national national outlet outlet for for comcommercial mercial steamboats steamboats had had an an economic economic boom. boom. New New immigrants--not immigrants--not all all welcome--arrived welcome--arrived in in large large numnumbers, bers, and and the the city city had had to to expand expand beyond beyond the the French French Quarter.

Quarter.

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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00

_1862: _1862:Occupied OccupiedUnion UnionTerritory Territory Advancing Advancingfrom fromthe theMississippi MississippiRiver, River,Union UnionAdmiral Admiral David DavidFarragut Farragutfought foughtpast pastForts FortsJackson Jacksonand andSt.St.Philip Philip totocapture captureNew NewOrleans.

Orleans.The Thecity citysurrendered surrenderedononApril April 27, 27,1862.

1862.The TheUnion Unionhad hadcaptured captureda amajor majorcity, city,the the major majorConfederate Confederateport, port,and andbybycontrolling controllingthe theMissisMississippi, sippi,split splitthe theConfederacy Confederacyinintwo. two.General GeneralBenjamin Benjamin Butler Butlerarrived arrivedononMay May1,1,1862, 1862,totogovern governthe theoccupied occupied city, city,and andwould wouldleave leavebybythe theend endofofthe theyear yearthe themost most hated hatedman manininNew NewOrleans Orleanshistory. history.

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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_1920: _1920:Reshaping Reshapingthe theLand Landininthe theEarly Early 20th 20thCentury Century Like LikePhiladelphia Philadelphiaand andNew NewYork, York,the thecity cityhad hada agrid grid already alreadyplanned plannedout; out;unlike unlikethose thosecities, cities,lots lotsininNew New Orleans Orleanswere werelaid laidout outperpendicularly perpendicularlytotoa acurving curving river riverresulting resultinginina apattern patternofofspokes spokesradiating radiatingout outfrom from the theswamp. swamp.Still, Still,attention attentionhad hadtotobebepaid paidtotothe theriver. river.

Downriver, Downriver,Captain CaptainJames JamesEads Eadsbuilt builtjetties jettiesinin1876 1876 that thatflushed flushedout outthe thepassageways passagewaysofofthe theriver rivertotoallow allow larger largerships shipstotonavigate navigatethe theMississippi.

Mississippi.Also Alsodowndownriver, river,a alevee leveewas wasdestroyed destroyedtotoallow allowdrainage drainagefrom fromthe the 1927 1927Flood--uneccesarily, Flood--uneccesarily,it itturned turnedout. out.AsAsrailroads railroads superceded supercededriver rivertravel, travel,New NewOrleans Orleansfound founditself itselfmore more isolated. isolated.

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Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historic_us_cities.html

1798

Source: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historic_us_cities.html

1849 _2005: andEarly Early _2005:Late Late 20th 20th Century Century and 21st 21st Century Century InInresponse 1927, President PresidentCalvin Calvin responsetotothe theFlood Flood of of 1927, Coolidge Actwhich whichaccommoaccommoCoolidgesigned signedthe the Jones-Reid Jones-Reid Act dated TheBonnet Bonnet datedspillways spillwaysalong along the the Mississippi.

Mississippi. The CarreSpillway Spillway30 30miles miles upriver upriver from Carre fromNew NewOrleans Orleans servedasasan anoutlet outletvalve valve that would served wouldtake takehigh highwater wateronon theriver riverand andredirect redirect itit into into Lake the Lake Pontchartrain.

Pontchartrain.InInthethe latterhalf halfofofthe the20th 20th century, century, New latter NewOrleans Orleanscontinued continued to grow and spread wide, accommodated to grow and spread wide, accommodatedbybybridges bridges and highways even as “freeway fighters” demanded and highways even as “freeway fighters” demanded rerouting of new roadways from the waterfront that rerouting of new roadways from the waterfront that made New Orleans special. made New Orleans special.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/New_Orleans_1891_map.jpg

1891

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rllayman/66222588/sizes/o/in/photostream/

1924

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Historic drainage path Constant-duty drainage path Storm event drainage path Drainage catchment area 0

1

Canal/pipe widths 30’+ 25’-30’ 20’-25’ 15’-20’ 10’-15’ 5’-10’ 3’-5’

2 miles

_Lafayette Relief Outflow Canal DPS 17 receives water from DPS 3 and the Bywater, as well as from a portion of Peoples Ave. Canal It historically was designed to pump both lakeside into the Peoples Ave. Canal (then the Lafayette Relief Outflow) and east through the Florida Ave. Canal. Today, it pumps only into the Florida Ave. Canal.

_London Avenue Canal

_Orleans Avenue Canal

DPS 4 was the last of the original eight stations from the 1895 plan to be built. It would not be until 1945 that the facility was erected, in a style different than the older pumping stations

DPS 7 pumps drainage directly into the above ground Orleans Ave. Canal, which divides the Lakeview neighborhood from City Park. It receives a significant portion of drainage from DPS 2.

It receives drainage from the northeast corner of Drainage Basin One, as well as a portion of that of DPS 3.

A small portion of water that fed to DPS 7 likely once drained directly into the New Orleans Navigational Canal (later the New Basin Canal), now filled.

AT _Aquents, dredged, frequently flooded _Flooding Frequency >80in.

Ke _Kenner Muck, drained 1248in.

_Vegetation Suitability

_Depth to Water Table (in) _Vegetation Stability

An

45 20.1 in Rare

_Aquents dredged >80in.

_Depth to Water Table (in)

_Organic Content (%) _Available Water Carrying Capacity. _Flooding Frequency

_Depth to Water Table (in) _Vegetation Suitability

Co

Cm

_Cancienne Silty Clay Loam 1848in.

Source: guttertogulf.com

2 12.5 in

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

_Depth to Water Table (in)

_Cancienne Silt Loam 1848in.

_Depth to Water Table (in)

_Vegetation Suitability

_Vegetation Suitability

_Farmland Suitability

_Farmland Suitability

_Significant Tree Suitability

_Significant Tree Suitability

_Organic Content (%) _Available Water Carrying Capacity

2 13 in

_Organic Content (%) _Available Water Carrying Capacity

22

_Orleans Avenue Canal Florida Avenue Canal

_Washington Ave. Canal

DPS 2 drains in two directions and receives a significant amount of water from DPS 1. A portion of drainage flows to DPS 3, and the remainder is sent through pipes to the aboveground Orleans Ave. Canal.

DPS 1 only operates two constant duty pumps during dry periods, which pump into the Broad St. Culvert to DPS 2.

_Florida Avenue Canal DPS 3 receives drainage from the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny, as well as a portion of outflow from DPS 2.

DPS 3 pumps water both lakeside into the Peoples Ave. Canal (formerly the Lafayette Relief Outflow) and to the Industrial Canal via the Florida Ave. Canal.

DPS 2 also historically pumped some water into the Carondelet Canal, now filled, and into the Bayou St. John.

Ha

_Allemands Muck, drained

_Harahan City

_Depth to Water Table (in)

58

1236in.

The Hoey’s Canal basin is a unique instance of a portion of Jefferson Parish draining into Orleans Parish.

The jurisdictional complexity of this area has been the source of antagonism between the two parishes. A proposal by the US Army Corps of Engineers known as Option 2a would pump water from this area to the river.

DPS 1 historically pumped most of its drainage through the New Orleans Canal (later the New Basin Canal), now filled, and its overflow into the Metairie Relief Outflow (now the 17th St. Canal), which continues today.

Ae 648in.

_Hoey’s Canal Basin

_Depth to Water Table (in)

Sk _Schriever Clay 024in.

_Depth to Water Table (in)

_Vegetation Suitability

_Vegetation Suitability

_Vegetation Suitability

_Organic Content (%)

_Farmland Suitability

_Farmland Suitability

_Available Water Carrying Capacity

_Significant Tree Suitability

_Significant Tree Suitability

Very High 15.1 in Rare

_Flooding Frequency

14 _Organic Content (%) 10.2 in

_Available Water Carrying Capacity

2

_Organic Content (%)

7.1 in

_Flooding Frequency

Sk _Schriever Clay 024in.

2 7.1 in

_Depth to Water Table (in)

_Schriever Silty clay loam 024in.

_Depth to Water Table (in) _Vegetation Suitability

_Farmland Suitability

_Farmland Suitability

_Significant Tree Suitability

_Significant Tree Suitability

_Available Water Carrying Capacity _Flooding Frequency

_Flooding Frequency

Sh

_Vegetation Suitability

_Organic Content (%)

_Available Water Carrying Capacity

2 7.9 in

_Organic Content (%)

CS _Cancienne and Schriever 1848in.

_Depth to Water Table (in) _Significant Tree Suitability

2 12.9 in

_Organic Content (%) _Available Water Carrying Capacity _Flooding Frequency

_Available Water Carrying Capacity _Flooding Frequency

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH4

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/hps2/hps_outfall_canals.asp

New Orleans Outfall Canals

Image showing the clear incision in the landscape that results from open canals http://www.flickr.com/photos/usacehq/4971954174/

17th Street Canal

Image showing the canal’s relationship with Lake Ponchartrain and surrounding context http://www.flickr.com/photos/usacehq/4971954174/

Orleans Avenue Canal

Image showing the population density surrounding these canals http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/05/24/us/25flood600.jpg

London Avenue Canal

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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Images of the one of the city’s defenses for flood protection that feeds stormwater to Lake Ponchartrain http://showcase.gspnet.com/Showcase/Projects/Showcase-1/17th-Street-and-London-Avenue-Canal-Pump-Stations

17th Street Canal

http://showcase.gspnet.com/Showcase/Projects/Showcase-1/17th-Street-and-London-Avenue-Canal-Pump-Stations

London Avenue Canal

http://showcase.gspnet.com/Showcase/Projects/Showcase-1/17th-Street-and-London-Avenue-Canal-Pump-Stations

London Avenue Canal

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

10

20

30

40

50

20000

15000

10000

5000

0

60

27

Precinct 20

Precinct 18A

West End Neighborhood

Precinct 19

Precinct 18B

Precinct 17

Precinct 14 Precinct 16 Precinct 13A Precinct 12 Precinct 13B Precinct 11A Precinct 9A Precinct 11B

Hollygrove Neighborhood

Precinct 15

Precinct 9B Precinct 10 Precinct 8 Precinct 7 Precinct 5 Precinct 6A Precinct 2A Precinct 4 Precinct 2B Precinct 3B Precinct 2C

Precinct 1A

Precinct 1B

New Orleans Populations density: 1965

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

New Orleans Residences in Poverty: 23.8%

This diagram combines various types of data to suggest a hidden relatinship between proximity to surrounding water bodies and socioeconomic status

Percentage of Population Density: Caucassian Percentage of Population Density: African-American Median Household Income (y/10) Percentage of Population Below Poverty

2000 ft

West Carrolton Neighborhood

Precinct 6B

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WEST END (LAKEWOOD) NEIGHBORHOOD This neighborhood was historically part of the backswamp and converted country clubs into subdivisions after the 20th century invention of drainage pumps.

West End is vulnerable to flooding because of the high floodwalls and moderate subsidence rates. However, this neighborhood is one of the wealthiest in New Orleans.

West End (Lakewood)

0.2 0.2 3.1

2.3

Orleans Parish

White

Asian

American Indian

Other

Hispanic

1.7

5.1

0.1

66.6

1.6

0.1

26.6

Black/Afican American

62.6

32.3

1.2 0.5 0.1 2.4

Louisiana

69.2

90.6

3.6

0.7 0.3

12.1

12.5

United States

17.6

Single-­‐mother households

4.3

Average Family Size 13.3 16.2

Married-­‐couple families with children

New Orleans 30.8

Married-­‐couple families 0

New Orleans

West End 43.4

Average Household Size

10

20

30

40

50

West End (Lakewood)

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

35

West End (Lakewood) 31.2

New Orleans

30 26 25

23 19.4

20

16.8

16 15 10

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/West-End-New-Orleans-LA.html http://www.guttertogulf.com/#1717576/Field-Work

16

16.8 15

15

12.9 9.1

9 7

6

10.5

10

Less than high school

11

10.5

10.5

6 3 3.5

5 0

United States

25

High school or Less than 1 year of 1 or more years of Associate degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree equiv. college college

3

3

1.5

Professional Doctorate degree school degree

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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WEST CARROLLTON NEIGHBORHOOD This neighborhood soon of the first land to be domesticated in 1831.

West End is is the least vulnerable to flooding because of it’s average elevation of 4 ft.

American Indian

Other

Hispanic

20.6

66.6

0.5

0.1

Asian

0.1

White

2.2

0.2 0.2 3.1

West Carrolton (Leonidas) Black/Afican American

26.6

2.3

Orleans Parish

62.6

32.3

1.2 0.5 0.1 2.4

Louisiana

69.2

75.5

3.6

0.7 0.3

12.1

12.5

United States

17.6 18.7

Single-­‐mother households

New Orleans

30.8 24.4

Married-­‐couple families 0

New Orleans

Average Family Size

13.3 10

Married-­‐couple families with children

10

West Carrolton Average Household Size

20

30

40

50

West Carrolton (Leonidas)

0

0.5

1

35 30

22

3.5

23 19.4 16.8

16.8 15

15

13

12.9

13 10.5

9.1

10

7

6

Less than high school

10.5

10.5

6 6 3 3.5

5

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

3

New Orleans

20

0

2.5

United States

25

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/West-Carrollton-New-Orleans-LA.html http://www.guttertogulf.com/#1717576/Field-Work

2

West Carrolton (Leonidas) 31.2

30 26

15

1.5

High school or Less than 1 year of 1 or more years of Associate degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree equiv. college college

2

3

1.5 1.5

Professional Doctorate degree school degree

30

HOLLYGROVE NEIGHBORHOOD This neighborhood was historically part of the backswamp and settled after the 20th century invention of drainage pumps.

Hollygrove is especially vulnerable to flooding because of the valves in the Washington Canal that limit drainage of stormwater, low elevation, and stormwater from Airline Highway.

Asian

0 0.1 2.6

American Indian

Other

Hispanic

66.6

0.1

White

1.5

0.2 0.2 3.1

Hollygrove Black/Afican American

26.6

2.3

Orleans Parish

62.6

32.3

1.2 0.5 0.1 2.4

Louisiana

69.2

94.7

3.6

0.7 0.3

12.1

12.5

United States

17.6

Single-­‐mother households

22.3

Average Family Size

13.3 9.9

Married-­‐couple families with children

New Orleans 30.8 27.1

Married-­‐couple families 0

New Orleans

10

Hollygrove Average Household Size

20

30

40

50

Hollygrove

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

40 35 30

Hollygrove

35

New Orleans

31.2

30

United States

26 23

25

19.4

20 15

16.8 12.9

10

0

16.8

15 9.1

7 6

5

http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Hollygrove-New-Orleans-LA.html http://www.guttertogulf.com/#1717576/Field-Work

14 15

2 Less than high school

High school or equiv.

3.5

10.5 7 4

10.5

10.5

6 0.5

Less than 1 year 1 or more years of Associate degree Bachelor's degree Master's degree of college college

3

0.5 1.5

Professional Doctorate degree school degree

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

31 Architecture of [RESISTANCE]

on, etc. ty, or the like;

naletc. state on, ty, or the like; stic material

nal state

stic material

g er ural capacity thoughts or

Resistance: noun. a. the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc.

b. ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy

c. (ecology) the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state after being disturbed

d. (physics) the amount of potential energy stored in an elastic material when deformed

ural capacity

Architecture of [ACCEPTANCE]

g er thoughts or

ephermeralness permanence ephermeralness permanence

on, etc. ty, or the like;

nal state

stic material

Acceptance: noun.

a. the act of taking or receiving something offered b. favorable reception; approval; favor c. the act of assenting or believing d. the fact or state of being accepted or acceptable

Architecture of [RESILIENCE]

g er thoughts or

ural capacity

Resilience: noun. a. the act or power of resisting, opposing, and withstanding

b. the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another

c. (psychiatry) opposition to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness

d. any force that tends to retard or oppose motion

e. the capacity to withstand something, esp. the body’s natural capacity ephermeralness to withstand disease permanence Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

32 Architecture of [RESILIENCE]

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

33

Conditions

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Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

Network

_

Space

_

Management

ment_

34

_ BarriersBarriers _

_

Neighborhoods Neighborhoods

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

35

Conditions

_

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

Network

_

Space

_

Management

ment

36

_

Barriers

_

Neighborhoods

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

37

Bibliography

Kelman, Ari. A River and Its City the Nature of Landscape in New Orleans: with a New Preface. Berkeley, Calif. u.a.: Univ. of California, 2006. Print.

Ari Kelman, author and associate professor of History at the University of California, explores the environmental history of New Orleans and its relationship to the river through the waterfront. This source was helpful with it vast amount of history on the riverfront condition of the city. Through the text, I better understand the poetic condition of the land/water relationship of the city with its hurricane and flood control systems.

Barry, John M. Rising Tide: the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Print.

This book is a nonfiction reference that has a particular focus on the 1927 Flood, the greatest natural disaster ever in this country. John M. Barry, an awardwinning author, attempt to revive the epic story of this disaster along with the unfolding of racial, economic, and political issues that plagued New Orleans. The transformation of American society with the help of the Mighty Mississippi was a major result of the flood among other incidents. This was a helpful source for a historical background of the control of the Mississippi while not able to address how impact the flood had on future decisions. It also helped change the way I thought about flooding of the river with the plethora of elements, such as race, power, and money that cause “natural disasters�.

Bhatia, Neeraj. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Print.

Coupling covers several strategies for engaging existing infrastructure in new ways, such as reusing abandoned airports and landfills, to find their latent potential for an architectural intervention. Through this work, Infranet Lab and Lateral Office suggests new ways of thinking of infrastructure based on the consideration of nature as infrastructure and loading new infrastructure with potential for further growth. Coupling is successful in reimagining our existing conditions and proposing new daring projects making for an excellent source on opportunities of infrastructure. This source will be used in my research to establish possible precedents for infrastructural interventions.

Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

38

Campanella, Richard. Time and Place in New Orleans: past Geographies in the Present Day. Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub., 2002. Print.

This book is a nonfiction account of the influence of New Orleans’s topography and geography on its growth and development. The author, Richard Campanella, is assistant research professor in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane and Xavier Universities. This source made gave a deeper understanding of the problems that faced New Orleans and its current ones. It was mainly useful for its explanation of the city’s constant interventions with drainage of rainwater and how later a more improved system made inhabitable land that once wasn’t. Campanella’s work changed the way I felt about the advantages and disadvantages of New Orleans’s current drainage system.

Mostafavi, Mohsen, and Gareth Doherty. Ecological Urbanism. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Muller, 2010. Print.

In this book, editors Moshen Mostafavi and Gareth Doherty gather a cacophony of writers, from design practitioners to politicians, to discover what is the present state of ecological urbanism and what it should become for the future. The aggregation of ideas aim at addressing how we can curate, produce, collaborate, interact, mobilize, and measure a new “systems based” urbanism rather than a “object based” urbanism. The articles were helpful in understanding urbanism’s disconnect with ecology in our current “object based” strategies and how an integration of the systems, namely ecology and urbanism, can start to remediate contemporary cities. Ecological Urbanism changed the way I think of data visualization, synthesized design thinking, and multidisciplinary practice. This source will assist in conceiving of a successful new urbanism for New Orleans through design that integrates and expresses complex systems along with the social processes present in the context.

McPhee, John. The Control of Nature. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1989.

Print.

This book is a nonfiction account of John McPhee’s encounters with various places where people are in a combat with nature. McPhee unfolds the control of nature at the Old River Structure Control to reduce the amount of sediment allowed into the Atchafalaya River from the Mississippi River for flood control. This source helps to address the issue of responsibility concerning flood control of the River to maintain a certain standard of living. McPhee’s narratives brought a realistic view of how inhabitants of the land actually feel about its condition.

[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward

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Fall 2011 Thesis Studio

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[RE]invisioning New Orleans’ 17th Ward