Timeline of the Planning Process in New Orleans
This list provides links to sources, where available, for key events in the disaster recovery planning process in New Orleans. A real timeline, scaled appropriately with lots of other time series information is available on www.envisioningforplanners.org. It was prepared by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
| August 26, 2005 | Governor Kathleen Blanco Declares a State of Emergency in Louisiana – Governors Office Press Release |
| August 27, 2005 | Federal State of Emergency Declared by President Bush, FEMA and DHS given full authority to act – Presidents Office Press Release |
| August 27, 2005 | Katrina Upgraded to a Category 3 Hurricane – CNN |
| August 28, 2005 | Katrina Upgraded to a Category 5 Hurricane – CNN |
| August 28, 2005 | Mayor Nagin Issues Mandantory Evacuation of New Orleans – Times-Picayune |
| August 29, 2005 | Hurricane Katrina makes second landfall as a category 3 hurricane – CNN |
| August 29, 2005 | Industrial Canal, 17th Street Levee and London Ave Canal breached – Wikipedia |
| September 8, 2005 | Rockefeller Foundation annonces $3M grant for housing and economic redevelopment in response to Hurricane Katrina to GNOF Katrina Disaster Relief Fund – Rockefeller Foundation Press Release |
| September 12, 2005 | Michael Brown resigns as director of FEMA – BBC |
| September 19, 2005 | Second Evacuation of New Orleans for Hurricane Rita – Washington Post |
| September 27, 2005 | City Council passes resolution to create 11 person Advisory Committee on Hurricane Recovery – Times-Picayune |
| September 30, 2005 | Nagin announces Bring New Orleans Back Committee, ULI to advise 17 member pannel – Times-Picayune |
| October 5, 2005 | Mayor announces Layoff of 3,000 non-essential city employees, about half the workforce – Times-Picayune |
| October 12, 2005 | City Council Approves Advisory Committee on Hurricane Recovery, directs it to hold its first meeting within two weeks – Times-Picayune |
| October 17, 2005 | Governor Blanco creates the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), a 23-member commission that will guide state government in the process of rebuilding, headed by Norman Francis and Walter Isaacson – Times-Picayune (Oct 18, 2005) |
| October 28, 2005 | City Planning Commission feels bypassed by BNOB, APA states that it is “critically important” that the Commission participate in BNOB – Times-Picayune |
| November 18, 2005 | ULI makes preliminary recomendations to BNOB, greenspace buyouts of lowest neighborhoods. Mayor Nagin absent. – Times-Picayune |
| November 28, 2005 | Mayor Nagin reiterated his intention to ultimately “rebuild all of New Orleans.”, rejecting ULI plan – Times-Picayune |
| December 13, 2005 | Canazaro Proposes the three year plan: Anyone can rebuild anywhere for three years, at which point inadequite neighborhoods will be shrunk – Times-Picayune |
| December 15, 2005 | City Council Passes a resolution that all neighborhoods “should get equal treatment and should be rebuilt simultaneously” – Times-Picayune (December 17, 2005) |
| December 15, 2005 | Canazaro’s Urban Design pannel of BNOB along with Wallace, Roberts & Todd suggest a one year free-for-all rebuidling period to discourage residents from delaying – Times-Picayune |
| December 23, 2005 | Nagin lifts midnight curfew west of Industrial Canal – Times-Picayune |
| December 30, 2005 | President Bush signs a spending bill providing $29B in recovery funds to the gulf coast, including $6.2B in potential CDBG money to Louisiana. At the same time, an addtional $50B is allocated for ongoing military in Iraq and Afghanistan – Times-Picayune (December 31, 2005) |
| January 1, 2006 | New Orleans third largest city in Louisiana, after Baton Rouge and Shrieveport with 135,000 – Times-Picayune |
| January 7, 2006 | Former Mayor Marc Morial, now president of the National Urban League, delivers a speech insisting on Category 5 protection and a 120% buyout program for homeowners – Times-Picayune |
| January 11, 2006 | Bring New Orleans Back land-use committee, Chaired by Joe Canizaro releases and votes to accept its final report calling for a four month window to allow neighborhoods to prove their viability otherwise they will be bought out by a powerful new redevelopment authority, a morritorium on building permits in heavily flooded areas, $3.3 billion for light rail, $12 billion for buyouts. – Times-Picayune |
| January 11, 2006 | New Orleans architect Ray Manning and Tulane University’s school of architecture dean, Reed Kroloff nominated by BNOB land-use committee to hold planning meetings for the BNOB process starting March 20, 2006 – Times-Picayune |
| January 12, 2006 | Wal-Mart Foundation announces a $500,000 gift each to BNOB and LRA – Times-Picayune (January 13, 2006) |
| January 16, 2006 | Nagins “Chocolate City” and “Vengeful god” speech on MLK day – Times-Picayune |
| January 19, 2006 | Governor Kathleen Blanco announces appointment of Calthorpe to lead Regional planning for LRA, Andres Duany to lead the Neighborhood planning side and Raymond Gindroz of Urban Design Associates to create a pattern book of house designs – Times-Picayune (January 20, 2006) |
| January 21, 2006 | Louisiana Planning Day held nation-wide by FEMA ESF-14 to solicit input from affected residents in the state and a dozen other cities – Times Picyaune (January 22, 2006) |
| January 21, 2006 | Mayor Nagin announces he will not support a moritorium on rebuilding as suggested by BNOB – Times-Picayune |
| January 26, 2006 | City Council’s Advisory Committee on Hurricane Recovery holds first meeting, to advise the council on ways to “facilitate the city’s post-hurricane recovery efforts”, 150 days after Katrina – Times-Picayune |
| January 27, 2006 | BNOB accepts the final reports from the last six commitees, education, culture, health care and other matters. – Times-Picayune (January 28, 2006) |
| January 31, 2006 | NFL pledges $20M to repair the superdome – Times-Picayune (February 1, 2006) |
| February 15, 2006 | President Bush announces that he will ask Congress for an additional $4.2B in CDBG money for Louisiana – Times-Picayune |
| February 16, 2006 | City Council approves $2.9M in Community Development Block Grants to hire Lambert Consulting for its own neighborhood planning project – Times-Picayune |
| February 17, 2006 | US House kills Governor Blancos housing trust bill after being narrowly approved by the US Senate – Times-Picayune (February 17, 2006) |
| February 20, 2006 | Governor Blanco unveils what will become the $7.5B Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| March 8, 2006 | Road Home program sets up website and phone number for people to register for whatever state housing assistance is made available – Times-Picayune |
| March 10, 2006 | LRA pledges $7.5M to BNOB planning process after FEMA denies Funding to Manning & Kroloff led planning process – Times-Picayune |
| March 16, 2006 | LRA approves Governor Blancos $7.5B Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| March 20, 2006 | Bring New Orleans Back Commission released report, $12.9B cost – Times-Picayune |
| March 28, 2006 | ESF-14 Completed, lousianaspeaks.org is launched – Timeline of ESF-14 |
| April 7, 2006 | City Council announces that Paul Lambert and Shelia Danzey will be working with neighborhoods devistated by Katrina – Times-Picayune |
| April 12, 2006 | FEMA releases Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps – Times-Picayune |
| April 20, 2006 | Rockefeller Foundation Announces $3.5M to fund UNOP – Rockefeller Foundation Press Release |
| April 26, 2006 | LRA approves final version of Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| May 2, 2006 | Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and the House Appropriations Committee approves the LRA’s road home program – Times-Picayune (May 3, 2006) |
| May 10, 2006 | State Senate approves LRA’s Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| May 20, 2006 | Mayor Ray Nagin Re-elected – Times-Picayune |
| May 30, 2006 | Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson approves Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| June 5, 2006 | Request for Qualifications for UNOP issued – GNOF RFQ |
| June 9, 2006 | ICF International Chosen to administer the $7.5B Road Home program – Times-Picayune (June 10, 2006) |
| June 15, 2006 | President Bush signs emergency spending bill for an additional $4.2B in CDBG to Louisiana – Times-Picayune |
| June 16, 2006 | City Planning Disseminates Neighborhood Planning Guide – UNOP Website |
| June 26, 2006 | UNOP Requests for Qualifications Submissions Due – GNOF RFQ |
| July 5, 2006 | LRA, City Council & Mayor Announce Agreement on UNOP – Mayor’s Office Press Release |
| July 21, 2006 | New Orleans Community Support Foundation Approves Recommended Planning Teams – UNOP Website |
| July 30, 2006 | First Community Meeting for UNOP to decide planning districts and establish criteria for working with planning teams – UNOP Website |
| August 1, 2006 | Presentations by planning firms to neighborhood organizations for UNOP – Bayou Buzz |
| August 3, 2006 | Paul Lambert takes out full page ad denouncing UNOP – Times-Picayune |
| August 22, 2006 | Governor Blanco announces launch of Road Home program – Times-Picayune |
| August 25, 2006 | City Council approves FEMA flood elevation maps – Times-Picayune |
| August 28, 2006 | Memorandum of Understanding Signed by Mayor, City Council & GNOF – UNOP Website |
| August 28, 2006 | Community Support Organization (CSO) Board Members Announced – UNOP Press Release |
| August 28, 2006 | Assignment of planning teams to neighborhoods and districts announced – Times-Picayune |
| August 31, 2006 | UNOP Board Meeting to announce planning teams, approve contracts and ratify CSO appointments – UNOP Website |
| September 15, 2006 | Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund gives $1M to UNOP process – Times-Picayune |
| September 23, 2006 | Lambert Plans final Presntations, price tag $2B – Times-Picayune |
| October 27, 2006 | The New Orleans Neighborhoods Rebuilding Plans were unanimously accepted by the City Council of New Orleans on Friday October 27, 2006 (Motion M- 06-460). |
| October 28, 2006 | First UNOP Community Congress |
| December 2, 2006 | Second UNOP Community Congress |
| January 20, 2007 | Third UNOP Community Congress. |
Thanks so much for this timeline! It is a huge help in seeing how each of the individual plans started and were presented to the public, how they overlap and how entities have been clashing with each other.
Would LOVE to have a post about timelines since Oct. 27 and get some of your thoughts about the planning process occurring right now with UNOP on the forefront, Lambert still around and the LRA cutting promised funding (Article in Times-Picayune today)
but thanks it was a big help
When you see the totality of the efforts that have been made, you can’t be unimpressed by the monumental waste of time, money and energy. I feel badly for the participants who’s hard work was dismissed and discarded in these, ultimately, worthless studies.
This is great! I would like to see an updated timeline and what is upcoming since January 20, 2007?!
Thanks..
Wheres the money being spent? Last time I was there 2010, many places look apocalyptic. Empty shopping centers, abandoned neighborhoods, An old Six Flags theme park that was reminiscent of a Dean Koontz best seller. It is freightening! All the money that Congress/Washington approved (est) based on my research in the hundreds of billions could have been divided up to net each home owner a one time allotment of 1.5 million. So wheres the money? Show your citizens the bill. Stop trying to pretend that only law makers can multiply and divide. Citizens, stop letting the government give you foid sramps and a 1000 relief check as a pat on the back. Basically this us their way of saying you and your families, your lifes work, hopes and dreams are worth 1000 dollars and a one time welfare payment.