BABY STEPS

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Aside from the astonishment of the appearance of actual action, there is nothing much remarkable in the announcement. All of the targets are low hanging politically ripe fruit. Most of the choices would have happened without any government interference or are political imperatives.

I'll reserve judgment untill we see who gets the gravy.

While.. on the surface... I like the fact that the target zones imply that we're talking about investing in neighborhoods that need it, I'm not happy until: 1) We know exactly how funds and "incentives" are to be disbursed and to whom. 2) Infrastructure and public transit issues are addressed with clarity and specificity. 3) Blakely stops being such a damn prick.

I'm also discouraged by the shaky prospects for the funding of this plan.

In fact, I agree with both of you but something really needs to be done. At least this is a start. If we wait for perfection the City will die.

I am fairly optimistic on the prospect. There is a great deal of logic behind the proposed projects. and as far as I can tell, the plan incorporate ideas incubated in the UNOP process (if not before Katrina). This can explain why their seems to be support from the neighborhoods - they are already familiar with the proposals.

There evidently is a portion of the funding available, and like anything else, more will be needed. With Ray "transparant as charcoal" Nagin at the helm, this is the bit that concerns me.

I share celsus' limited optimism. I don't have enough time to wait until Jeffrey is happy.

Moi aussi, Erster. The city needs to get off its ass and get to work.

Aloha! This is my first post at the now-"Light Blue Blog", but Wet Bank, the Perfesser and a few others know me.

Did somebody say "public transit issues"? This is my particular thing, since years ago, I was one of the 100,000 or so New Orleanians without cars.

Looking at the 19 sites on the T-P map, one stands out as being marooned miles from any transit -- Harrison Ave. in Lakeview. In fact, the only way to get anywhere near there is on Jefferson's Vets bus -- what New Yorkers used to call a "two-fare zone"! Where's the workforce going to come from for a "major redevelopment area" if it doesn't even have crummy 2007-style RTA transit? Even Lower Nine has had transit for a few months now.

Overall, though, the plan is, finally!, something that I can sink my teeth into (indeed, already have, a bit), and as my far too few NOLA friends will attest, amateur planning is another one of my particular things.

Count me among the early skeptics, though I like that something is on the table. What is the plan, really, other than subsidized commercial development. Targeted subsidies are inherently unfair to the unsubsidized, and may result in uneven differential development. The PRC said it right-commercial generally follows residential, not the reverse. I would prefer that we incentivized business (not retail) development. Folks do go where there are real jobs opening up.

Wilkommen Kaina.

MAD, I rarely disagree with you or Patty but something is better than nothing, which is what we had.

Perhaps I've been misunderstood.

I applaud these few announcements. They are just obvious and should have been made many months ago. Mr. Wet said accurately that in " project management ... one should "get ugly early...". That should not preclude making the early easy decisions quickly and getting them out of the way. That is what has been done here, much later than was necessary or desirable.

I heard Blakely speak last week. His presentation was little more than clever cliches and shopworn planning jargon. He was, in a word, unprepared for the presentation. He is clearly qualified for this job, but the problem is that N.O. does not have his undivided attention. He has a full-time gig in Australia, consulting obligations around the world, a family that is not in New Orleans, and, apparently, some health problems. He is not a young man, and his is a punishing schedule. I believe Blakely is a consummate A-list academic. Those guys are in great demand, and tend to over-commit themselves. As a consequence, they fall back on their prior research, and on their smarts, to proffer a generic agenda, without doing original local research that might produce more effective programmatic approaches. They also become intellectually insufferable, and eschew advice or even heartfelt consultation with regard to their work. That's how this plan strikes me. How does it dovetail with the UNOP plan, not yet adopted? Does it usurp all the available funds, leaving UNOP completely unfunded? How does it reflect citizen imput or advice? Does it reflect economic or marketplace imperatives? It leaves more questions than answers.

I second everything MAD said.

How does it dovetail with the UNOP plan, not yet adopted? Does it usurp all the available funds, leaving UNOP completely unfunded?

Much of what you say about the planning czar sounds dead-on. But ... what in the UNOP was to be funded. And I mean what, specifically? The citywide planning document and the neighborhood plans (from which the czar definitely took his zones and whatnot) go on forever and 80 million things are listed that would need funding. Never once does the UNOP mention what should get funding first--a list is provided, but readers are told not to think of it as a priority list. Meanwhile, New Orleans' and the neighborhoods' goals include providing affordable housing for all, giving everyone a top-notch education, blah blah.

Take this example from the Ninth Ward planning document, printed under "infrastructure and public works" goals:

"The Lower Ninth Ward will be a safe, secure, and well-functioning community with good clean streets; modernized infrastructure; and sustainable energy systems to provide with viable electric, sewer and water service. A hardened utility infrastructure program in addition to debris removal initiatives and landscape improvements will improve the quality of life throughout the District. These projects must be appropriately coordinated. Sites occupied by FEMA trailers will be thoroughly repaired and put back to their original use. The quality and health of the neutral grounds, tree canopies and urban landscaping will be enhanced."

So, when does the city get started on that?

First of all, I think of this proposal as a first stage. At this point, we're an international laughing stock because of our inability to come up with any sort of plan. Blakely has at least given us something to discuss instead of endless meetings.

And Ray, UNOP was always vague because it never had the force of law. As to the Lower 9th Ward, Holy Cross seems to be the top priority, which makes sense because it suffered much less damage than just across Claiborne. I'm really not sure what will or even should be done with the other side.

Agreed on Holy Cross, and am amused by the writers to nola.com who've said it's all racial. Hey, y'all, white people just happen to live in Holy Cross, as do middle class and more affluent people more generally. But it appears to be a viable neighborhood, especially when you consider that it wasn't able to open for so long. I live in the Mid-City/City Park area, and comparing Holy Cross to that area's extent of recovery isn't remotely fair.