Urban Politics in the USA. New Orleans after Katrina and Rita

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Uwe Altrock
• Subject Area: Urbanism, Spatial Planning, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, Landscape Planning
• Term: from 2012 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 226769965

The reconstruction of New Orleans after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita pose an extraordinary challenge for the system of urban politics and planning in the USA. Local, state-level and national trends and influences on urban politics interact in a particular way. The activities of foundations, philanthropists and NGOs normally working in a national context advocate the implementation of more sustainable planning, affordable housing and integrated strategic planning. However, attractive areas of the city have become arenas for rent seeking by private developers. New Orleans can be understood as a weak municipality that offers a great opportunity to investigate the interactions between civil society and private companies, often neglected in urban governance research. The project will thus contribute to a better understanding of urban politics in the USA and especially investigate the scope for reform triggered by non-profit organizations. For this purpose, city-wide visions, strategies, programs, plans and planning discourses are analyzed with a special focus on the rationalities of the participating stakeholders, decision-making and the selectivity of the achieved results.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants