Forget the Yanks, Here Come the Dutch

NEW ORLEANS--Today's Times-Picayune points out what's painfully obvious: the biggest man-made engineering disaster (per Dr. Bob Bea, co-author of the ILIT report) ever to befall an American city has fallen completely off the national radar screen. New Orleans got only one passing mention, in reference to its growth in charter schools, in the four national candidates' debates. New Orleans may be, according to the old slogan, "the city that care forgot", but, judging by this campaign, it's certainly the city America forgot.

Enter the Dutch. The good news this week, aside from the fact that the city has been filled with conventioneers, Raiders fans, and attendees at the Film Festival, was the one public session of Dutch Dialogs II, a project by David Waggoner to involve Dutch experts in re-imagining the relationship between New Orleans and its neighboring bodies of water. To a packed house at Tulane University, Waggoner and his fellow participants in a two-day weekend series of planning sessions, unveiled a new vision: an end to the Corps of Engineers idea of fighting a war with water (one we're doomed to lose), and a beginning to a notion of living with "urban water" for twinned purposes -- greater safety and added value to neighborhoods and communities.

Up on the wall were the vision as designs and maps. The team advocated rediscovering the network of canals that New Orleans used to have, canals that have been largely buried by the same mentality that put the Los Angeles River in a concrete coffin. They proposed tearing down the ugly (and fatally flawed) walls that line the drainage canals that remain in New Orleans, and opening neighborhoods to a view of those canals -- waterfront living, anyone?

And, unlike the planners who gleefully descended on the city in the wake of Katrina, welcoming it as a "clean slate" for their notions, the Dutch proclaimed respect for the street grid, the circulation system of the communities, and for the cultural history of the neighborhoods.

It was, in short, an inspiring trip to Dreamland. In reality, the future of New Orleans is still in the hands of the water warriors who almost succeeded in drowning it. Not that the candidates noticed.

Comments

[AdamKoeppe]

Will the Real Driver of the Straight Talk Bus Please Stand up?

Hi Harry,

Thought you might enjoy this as the intimitable Otto Mann is suggested as a possible replacement driver for Senator McCain's bus.

http://adamkoeppe.blogspot.com/2008/10/will-real-driver-of-straight-talk.html

-AK

[AnOddGirl]

Levees across America are aging as rapidly as her populace.
There are over 45 levees in imminent danger of failure from sea to shining sea.
There are millions of roadways that are failing from old age.
The nation is getting old and every crack is beginning to show - from bridges to tunnels and in between.
The US is going to have to deal with the aging of our public projects soon - remember the damns holding back rivers across the US are old - how long before one of these goes?
The problem: manpower and no one wants to foot the bill UNTIL it's too late. "Let's NOT fix it till it's killed a bunch of folks! It's the only way we know that there's a problem"

As a New Orleanian that survived Katrina (no biggie there), survived the Army Corps(e) of Engineers (they killed homes and people), and the entire world's 2 cents, at least the Dutch are pro active, and don't think inside the box like Americans do!!

[Durango]

Isn't it amazing how Americans, or rather American politicians are able to dismiss any ideas that come from elsewhere in favor of reinventing the wheel for every American problem.

Take Social Security for instance. Americans of all political stripes are beating their chests on what to do.

Why not ask the Germans, who invented the concept under that arch socialist Bismark?

Why not look at how other countries handle the issue. And take the best ideas from around the world and work them into our system?

Not to mention health care. Bismark invented socialized medicine also and it appears to have worked for the last 100 plus years.

Americans are so self centered we are stupid.

[PerryWhite]

What day are the Dutch changing payday to?

[Yermammy]

As a victim/witness to the great flood of '93, I can tell you that it's foolish to try containing water. It's relentless. Going with the flow, like the original city plans did, is the best way. Many cities in Europe have learned these lessons over the centuries.

"It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" (remember that old margarine commercial?)

[3rdCitizen]

Yeah, but since Joe-Sixpack hates the friggin' Europeans, we refuse to use any of their ideas in the U.S.A. Especially the good ones. (That'll show 'em!)

[NationalTreasure]

Sen. Obama is missing an opportunity he needs to get down to the south, the gulf coast regon and the southwestern states.

[marytny]

They'll probably sell the canals to a big business....
We have Edison Field, Staples Center, guess we'll can
have Citibank Canals next....

[RTIII]

I think you mean the "Citibank Sewer".

The K&B Canal has a nice ring to it - too bad that's not possible any more.
.

[tbone99]

Glad to hear something positive from NOLA.
maybe Nola could be "adopted" by the French again.

[Yermammy]

I speak for all my Chickasas brothers when I say- OK, well take it, now everybody GET OUT!

[tbone99]

Just wait , bro, the day is coming....

[OutragedMom]

No one knows how to manage water better than the Dutch and they are artistes at heart, as well.
Let's get the money and get it done!

[DarthVector]

God bless, Harry - you take that fight to them, and don't you ever stop.

And God bless, New Orleans, you will rise and rise and you won't ever stop.

Change is nearly with us all...

[lisaintexas]

The Dutch offered time and time again - before Katrina struck, during and after to help in New Orleans citing their knowledge, experience and history with water. George Bush told them we didn't need 'em. We know everything. A Dutch minister told me that when I was at a dinner in Cologne Germany at the end of January in 2007. My mother who is Dutch (I was born there), who lives in Australia told me all about that right after Katrina hit. It was in the news in Australia and obviously in Holland. And Americans were given the impression by the traditional media and certainly by their government that 'we were alone' and how come nobody came to our aid was the comment I heard a great many times. Many, many nations offered help, people, equipment, knowledge, etc. They were told to go away.

[JulieDole]

This idea really excites me. Will someone please memo Obama on it?

Let's pray he wins so we can take up some truly visionary ideas , like this one

[ExpatNL]

I am dual citizen and live in Holland. America said it was too expensive to fix New Orleans the way we did my country., They would rather spend a trillion destroying someone else's country,

[TRYKER]

Your comment really hits home. The priorities of this administration have had death and destruction at the top of its list.
Take all our tax dollars and go decimate a whole country and kill millions and displace 5 million more...and all we can do is stand and chant USA USA!! It is revolting and appalling.

[tbone99]

The usual pattern of 'gentrification " in this country is to ignore certain areas , denying them funds, and loans, allowing crime to take over and places to decay, then when they've hit bottom investors move in and buy on the cheap ( of course all at once loans are available).So of course, the U.S. doesn't want somebody spoiling investors plans.

[MatoSka]

Sprechen zie Dutch? It is good to have the Dutch boy putting his finger in the dike for us, but, like you say, it just won't hold back the future.

Of all the images of the last twenty years, none stands as a starker and bleaker testimony of the loss our national capacity in addressing our own problems here at home than the image of people dying of dehydration surrounded by flood waters on sections of a bridge in New Orleans.

Indeed, "In reality, the future of New Orleans is still in the hands of the water warriors who almost succeeded in drowning it."

[Zofomofo]

Don't you love a breath of sanity?

[RepugsOut08]

Oh, Harry. Don't you remember? We're the GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!
We don't need no stinkin' foreigners comin' here to tell us how to run our business. Our broken levees and falling bridges are second to none! Anyone who speaks out against the ARMY Corps of Engineers must hate our troops!
Seriously, the Dutch plan sounds great, and a new administration will, hopefully, look into implementing their proposals. Of course, hurricane Bush has left the entire country in financial rubble, so it may take some time. Hang in there!

[musselmanm]

We, as one nation need very badly to rebuild our infrastructure. Many of the problems in theses areas with water problems can be addressed. We the citizens must demand that we the payers of the massive graft to the big business' and the financial giants to save them from their own policies, must demand a bottom up recovery. Just as Joe Biden said its about a three letter word, jobs. LMAO.
It really is though, we can man up these jobs and stimulate business from our paychecks by buying from our business' and borrowing for our major needs from the financial services sector. We are the driving force of our country, not the big business giants that have ruined our economy.
Lets hold our leaders feet to the fire. We must organize to demand the things we need.
You may call me socialist if you want but if we can't buy, our business' can't prosper. They will need to market their products to the people that can afford them, the China giant.