Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP)
The Urban Planning Committee for CUNA was highly engaged in the Unified New Orleans Plan. We were also active in the New Orleans Louisiana Rebuilding Plan and needed to follow through to get critical projects emphasized.
The result was that some very worthy and significant but neighborhood-scale projects got prioritized and publicized within the UNOP process after its major backers gave some actual opportunity forthe “grass-roots” to speak! Everyone who contributed made a difference.
We got endorsement for the Calhoun St. University Village Revitalization with a lot of help from Stephen Verderber of Tulane School of Architecture and the Calhoun St. businesses in forming a design compeititon to study the pros, cons and potentials.
Other districts and groups had similar successes, all
getting proper attention in the district plans….those close to home are Oak St. revitalization, Freret St. (with farmer’s market), and Broadmoor’s plan.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS–ACROSS THE CITY–NEED TO DO ONE SIMPLE THING: GET TOGETHER AND PUSH. THERE IS MONEY THAT CAN STILL BECOME AVAILABLE FOR HANDLING THIS! We can leverage political factors such as:
State surplus, elections for Governor and President, the new congress, the fact that the UNOP plans are intended for more recovery funding based on our hard work and involvement.
Striking a balance between visionary redevelopments, function and infrastructure is key. We understand that a true “recovery” involves more than just returning things to the way they were pre Katrina. We have to surpass that when coming back from such a disaster and with the excellent projects outlined in the district 3 recovery plan, we will.
