10/21/2006 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now (10/19/06)

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The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization planning process

Part 1:
The citywide planning process to rebuild New Orleans staggered forward last Saturday with 13 planning district meetings across the city. The goal was to move forward with the planning process by aggregating neighborhood plans to the district level. The goal is to compile the district plans into one citywide rebuilding plan by January.

Some residents who attended the District 4 planning meeting last Saturday expressed frustration that significant issues in their neighborhood plans remain unresolved, while both planners and residents who have interests in more than one planning district complained that it wasn’t fair to expect them to be in more than one place at a time, as many of the district planning meetings were scheduled at the same time.

Nevertheless, most residents seem resolved that the Unified Planning Process needs to move forward, and they are actively engaged in pressing forward their list of priorities, in countless meetings, week after week, to rebuild their neighborhoods.

Jennifer Weishaupt is the Coordinator for Economic Development with the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization.

This conversation was recorded at the recently re-opened Bayou Coffee House and Wine Bar on the broad, oak-lined Jefferson Davis Parkway near Bayou St. John.

Part 2:
A few of the prominent concerns in the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization planning process are infrastructure repair and improvement, education, economic development, and affordable housing.

Additional information:
The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization rebuilding plan is available online at MCNO.ORG. Among upcoming MCNO activities, there will be a City Park clean-up organized for October 28th at 8 a.m., and MCNO is hosting Mid-City’s Open for Business, an informational forum that targets returning and prospective small business owners, on Saturday November 4th at City Park’s Botanical Garden. The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization holds planning meetings every Monday at 6:30 p.m., at Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal St. Go to MCNO.ORG for more information, or call (504)905-9713.

The UNOP Web site has archived audio from District 4 UNOP presentation, as well as the agenda, presentation, meeting minutes, map, and facilitator contact sheet. Similar documentation is available for each of the other planning districts on the UNOP Web site.

Here's a list of archived audio from all of the UNOP presentations at the Oct. 14 District meetings: District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, District 5, District 6, District 7, District 8, District 9, District 10, District 11, District 12, District 13.

The next Unified New Orleans Plan Community Support Organization advisory board meeting will be in the City Council chamber on Thursday, October 26, at 5:30 p.m.

The first Unified New Orleans Plan Community Congress will be held on Saturday, October 28, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., at the Morial Convention Center. The focus of this first Community Congress will be identifying the city’s large scale infrastructure priorities, the status of the recovery process and how UNOP is moving forward.

More photos from the 4th District planning meeting.

Related:

The Bayou Coffee House and Wine Bar has recently re-opened (326 N. Jeff. Davis Pkwy). The grand re-opening will be on Saturday, November 4th, starting at Noon, with live music and prizes. Mayor Ray Nagin and city councilmembers Shelly Midura and Stacy Head have been invited to attend.

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