Abandon New Orleans?

No. Simply put. No. GO to maps.google.com. Zoom in on New Orleans. There is a red tab called “Katrina.” Use that to see the extent of the flood on New Orleans.

It’s easy to find the Superdome. Go about 1km NE of the Superdome. That is where the French Quarter starts. Look around. High and dry. Look around a lot of the “old city” outside the FQ. The city that was meant to be lived in. It is high and dry as well.

Restructure New Orleans as a city as it was meant to be, yes. Let the swamps take the rest. NYC has "Central Park." Can't the "new" New Orleans have a "Perimeter Bayou?

There are city planners that can do the hard business.

That is where the designers and city planners earn their pay – if they are brave enough.

There are hundreds of thousands that no longer have homes. Make something valuable and long lasting worthy of their loss. Buy out the owners of the land that cannot be realistically protected from a CAT5.

This is a once in a century chance to make a world class city. It will take a 50-100 years to finish, but it can be done.

All it takes is leadership. Alas, in New Orleans and LA, we are missing both. That is where it is going to happen. Who will step in to provide the local leadership?