Rebuilding New Orleans Is 'Incredible Opportunity'

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The rebuilding of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina gives the city an unprecedented chance to create new city neighborhoods that are economically and racially diverse, says University at Buffalo urban geographer Meghan Cope, Ph.D., associate professor of geography in the College of Arts and Sciences.

However, she adds, given the prevailing trends in urban development in the U.S., it is unlikely that such diverse neighborhoods will emerge once the rebuilding begins.

"On the one hand," Cope says, "as an urban geographer and as someone interested in social justice issues, I see an incredible opportunity to construct a city that honors the historical aspects of New Orleans, but that makes things even better so that there is, for example, a transit system that is easily accessible and doesn't make people dependent on cars to get to work, that arranges parks and housing so that people have good access to open space."

All across the nation, she notes, are examples of how mixed-income communities create more diversity and therefore, better communities.

In these kinds of communities, she says, populations are not so isolated and they accommodate the elderly in small apartments or houses, as well as young families in larger homes.

"These communities also are often designed around a park or open space as a focal point, instead of letting cars, sprawling plazas and luxury-home subdivisions rule," she says.

"But given the way urban development actually happens, that is, driven by the profit motive in our economic system, I am skeptical as to how much of that will really be incorporated," she says.

She notes that once rebuilding New Orleans begins, capital will begin pouring into development projects in the city from the federal government and from private investors.

"The fact is that new development tends to happen at the high-end of the market, focused on new luxury housing, such as 'McMansions.' People build at the top end, with the idea that everything trickles down," she says.

It's the same with commercial development, Cope adds.

"So you will see Galleria-type shopping plazas instead of the small, neighborhood stores that are especially important to low-income communities," she adds.

"Depending on what they do with zoning laws, if they don't actively pursue integrated, multi-use mix of residential and commercial property, then they will end up with a sprawl situation that doesn't serve any population very well," she says.

Cope studies how social, economic, political and environmental processes influence cities and communities, with an emphasis on how social and spatial processes affect marginalized groups in society. She has researched how welfare reform has affected social service organizations and their influence on labor markets in Buffalo.

Currently, Cope directs Children's Urban Geographies, a research and education project funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award, focused on how inner city children view urban spaces and how to construct 'child-friendly cities.'

She also is co-authoring a book about qualitative research and geographic information science (GIS.)

Meghan Cope
Associate Professor of Geography
716-645-2722 ext. 25
mcope@buffalo.edu