New Orleans, Louisiana
German map of New Orleans, (1888)
New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is located in Southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The city is bordered by Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the east and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. It is named after Philippe II, Duc d`Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine and is considered the birthplace of jazz.
Its status as a world-famous tourist destination is due in part to its architecture, music, cuisine, its annual Mardi Gras, and other celebrations and festivals. The city is often referred to as "The most unique city in America."
The Greater New Orleans population was approximately 1.4 million people prior to the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina. The metro area has rebounded to 1.2 million in December 2006. The Greater New Orleans area is still Louisiana`s largest urban center. The population of the city itself was 484,674 according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The population estimate just before Katrina hit was 454,865 as of July 1, 2005. Hurricane Katrina flooded 80% of the city in August 2005, reducing the population temporarily to perhaps 90,000. By July 2006 the city had recovered somewhat to 223,388 (it should be noted that San Francisco, California took several years to recover from the 1906 earthquake). A population analysis released in August 2007 estimated the population to be 273,000, 60% of the pre-Katrina population and an increase of about 50,000 since July 2006. A September 2007 report by The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, which tracks population based on U.S. Postal Service figures found that in August 2007 just over 137,000 households received mail. That compares with about 198,000 households in July 2005 for a figure of about 70% of pre-Katrina population. For more information, see the section on demographics below.
History
Beginnings through the 19th century
La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans) was founded in 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of France at the time; his title came from the French city of Orléans. See Founding Families of New Orleans. In 1763, the French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire and remained under Spanish control for 40 years. Most of the surviving architecture of the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) dates from this Spanish period. Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801, but Napoleon sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase two years later. The city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, and Creole French.
During the War of 1812 the British sent a force to conquer the city. The Americans decisively defeated the British troops led by Sir Edward Pakenham in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. As a principal port, New Orleans had a leading role in the slave trade, while at the same time having the most prosperous community of free persons of colour in the South. The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and, by 1840, New Orleans had become the wealthiest and third most populous city in the nation. The Union captured New Orleans early in the American Civil War. This action spared the city the destruction suffered by many other cities of the American South.
Twentieth century
In the early 20th century, New Orleans was a progressive major city that`s most portentous development was a drainage plan devised by engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood. Urban development until then was largely limited to higher ground along natural river levees and bayous. Wood`s pump system allowed the city to expand into low-lying areas. Over the 20th century, rapid subsidence, both natural and human-induced, left these newly-populated areas several feet below sea level.
New Orleans was vulnerable to flooding even before the age of negative elevation. In the late 20th century, however, scientists and New Orleans residents gradually became aware of the city`s increased vulnerability. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 had killed dozens of residents even though the majority of the city remained dry. The rain-induced 1995 flood demonstrated the weakness of the pumping system; however, since that time measures have been taken to repair New Orleans`s hurricane defenses and restore pumping capacity.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
An aerial view from a United States Navy helicopter showing floodwaters around the entire downtown New Orleans area, (2005).
By the time Hurricane Katrina approached the city at the end of August 2005, most residents had evacuated. Although the hurricane`s eye passed east of the city, the city`s federal flood protection system failed resulting in the worst civil engineering disaster in American history. Floodwalls and levees constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed below design specifications and 80% of the city flooded. Tens of thousands of remaining residents were rescued by boat, helicopter or otherwise made their way to shelters of last resort at the Louisiana Superdome or the Morial Convention Center. Over 1,500 people died in Greater New Orleans.
The city was declared off-limits to residents while clean-up efforts began. The approach of Hurricane Rita caused repopulation efforts to be postponed, and the Lower Ninth Ward was re-flooded by Rita`s storm surge. By October 1, 2005, parts of the city accounting for about one-third of the population of New Orleans had been reopened.
Post-disaster recovery
An estimate by the Census Bureau in July 2006 estimated the population of New Orleans to be 223,000; a subsequent study estimated that 32,000 additional residents had moved to the city as of March 2007, bringing the estimated population to 255,000, approximately 56% of the pre-Katrina population level. Another estimate, based on data on utility usage from July 2007, estimated the population to be approximately 274,000, or 60% of the pre-Katrina population; this is somewhat less than an estimate from the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center in June 2007, which indicated that approximately two-thirds of the pre-Katrina population had returned to the city, based on mail delivery records.
Population demographers, the mayor`s office, and others believe, after discussions with still-displaced residents, that residents will gradually return to the region throughout the next couple of years.
Efforts continue to rebuild infrastructure, pick up hurricane-related debris, and restore a level of normality to the residents of New Orleans. Most of the residents that are still displaced continue to wait for state and federal assistance in the form of Kathleen Blanco`s Louisiana Recovery Authority program, Small Business Administration loans and other forms of financial assistance to return to their home regions.
The New Orleans Cityscape as of 2007.
Several major tourist events as well as other forms of revenue for the city of New Orleans have returned. The National Association of Realtors held its annual convention in New Orleans, as planned before Hurricane Katrina. Held in November 2006 with over 25,000 attendees, this was the first city-wide convention in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. The HIMSS healthcare information technology convention and the American College of Cardiology convention, both held in the spring of 2007, also each had more than 24,000 attendees. The Bayou Classic, the traditional football game between Southern University and Grambling State University, returned in November 2006 after being displaced to Houston, Texas for its November 2005 game.
The Essence Music Festival returned to the Crescent City for its July 2007 date after being displaced to Houston in July 2006. Other major events such as Mardi Gras and the Jazz and Heritage Festival were never displaced and have continued as planned. The National Football League made a commitment to the city with the return of the New Orleans Saints, following speculation of a move to San Antonio, Texas, or Los Angeles, California after Hurricane Katrina, and there is the possibility of a 2012 or 2013 Super Bowl. The National Basketball Association has made a commitment with the return of the New Orleans Hornets, which played part time in the 2006-2007 season (one game per month) and will play full time for the 2007-2008 season. New Orleans has been granted the 2008 NBA All Star Game, which usually generates millions of dollars in revenue for its host city. Tulane University hosted the first and second rounds of the 2007 NCAA Men`s Division I Basketball Championship. In mid-March 2007 a local group of investors began conducting a study to see if the city could support a Major League Soccer team. Several national travel guides have once again listed New Orleans as one of the top five places to visit in the country.
Many New Orleans phone book companies have stated the need to issue new phone books just seven months after the release of their previous ones due to the return of many residents and businesses. Maxim.com hosted its 2007 Hometown Hotties Top 10 Photo and Video Shoots in New Orleans, highlighting the attractions.
Cityscape
The Central Business District of New Orleans is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi River, and was historically called the "American Quarter or American Sector." Most streets in this area fan out from a central point in the city. Major streets of the area include Canal Street, Poydras Street, Tulane Avenue and Loyola Avenue. Canal Street functions as the street which divides the traditional "downtown" area from the "uptown" area. Every street crossing Canal Street between the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, which is the northern edge of the French Quarter, has a different name for the "Uptown" and "Downtown" portions. For example St. Charles Ave., known for it`s world-famous street car line, is called Royal Street below Canal Street. Elsewhere in the city, Canal Street serves as the dividing point between the "South" and "North" portions of various streets (e.g., South Broad becomes North Broad once you cross Canal Street into downtown). In the local parlance "downtown" means "downriver from Canal Street," while "uptown" means "upriver from Canal Street." Downtown neighborhoods include the The Vieux Carré or French Quarter , Treme, the 7th Ward, Faubourg-Marigny, Bywater (the Upper Ninth Ward), and the Lower Ninth Ward. Uptown neighborhoods include the Warehouse District, Garden District, the Irish Channel, the University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau, and Broadmoor. In common language, however, the Warehouse and Central Business Districts, despite being above Canal Street, are frequently called "Downtown" as a specific region, as in the Downtown Development District.
Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid-City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East, and Algiers.
The state of Louisiana is divided into parishes, rather than counties like most other U.S. states. Parishes located adjacent to the city include St. Tammany Parish to the north, St. Bernard Parish to the south and east, Plaquemines Parish to the south and southeast, and Jefferson Parish to the south and west.
Architecture
New Orleans is world famous for its plethora of unique architectural styles, as it reflects the city`s historical roots and multicultural heritage. Many styles of housing exist in the city, including the shotgun house (which developed in the city) and the California Bungalow style. Creole Townhouses line the streets of the French Quarter, notable for their large courtyards and intricate iron balconies. Throughout the city, there are many other historic housing styles: Creole Cottages, American Townhouses, Double-Gallery Houses, and Raised Center-Hall Cottages. St. Charles Avenue is famed for its large Antebellum homes and its mansions in various styles such as Greek Revival, Colonial, and Victorian styles such as Queen Anne and Italianate. New Orleans is also noted for its large, European-style Catholic cemeteries, which can be found throughout the city.
For much of its history, New Orleans` skyline consisted of only low and mid rise structures. The soft soils of New Orleans are susceptible to subsidence, and there was doubt about the feasibility of constructing large high rises in such an environment. The 1960s brought the trailblazing World Trade Center New Orleans and Plaza Tower which demonstrated that high-rise could stand firm on New Orleans` soil. One Shell Square took its place as the city`s tallest building in 1972, a title it will hold until the completion of the Trump International Hotel & Tower, scheduled in 2009. The oil boom of the early 1980s redefined New Orleans` skyline again with the development of the Poydras Street corridor. Today, New Orleans` high-rises are clustered along Canal Street and Poydras Street in the Central Business District.
As of May 29, 2007, The $400 Million Trump Tower is going ahead.
"Lured by congressionally authorized tax credits and other financial incentives after Hurricane Katrina, a procession of developers announced plans to build high-rises. But 20 months after the storm, most have fallen by the wayside. The slow pace of the recovery gets much of the blame. New Orleans still has no comprehensive rebuilding blueprint, and funding is falling far short of planners` expectations."
Crime
New Orleans has a high violent crime rate. Its homicide rate has consistently ranked in the top five of large cities in the country since the 1980s along with Detroit, Houston, Washington D.C., and Atlanta. Homicides peaked at 425 in 1994, a homicide rate of 86 per 100,000, which has not been matched by any major U.S. city to date.
The homicide rate rose and fell year to year throughout the late 1990s, but the overall trend from 1994 to 1999 was a steady reduction in homicides.
From 1999 to 2004, the homicide rate again increased. New Orleans had the highest homicide rate of any major American city in 2002 (53.3 per 100,000 people), and again retained the highest homicide rate in 2003, with 275 homicides. It should be stated that the actual number of homicides in New Orleans has decreased since 1994 when 425 people were slain and New Orleans had the distinction of being the "per capita murder capital of the U.S." The number of homicides in 2004 was about 275, cutting the 1994 number by one-third.
Violent crime is a serious problem for New Orleans residents, yet far less of a problem for tourists. As in other U.S. cities of comparable size, the incidence of homicide and other violent crimes is highly concentrated in certain low-income city neighborhoods, such as housing projects, that are sites of open air drug trade. The homicide rate for the New Orleans metropolitan statistical area, which includes its suburbs, was 24.4 per 100,000 in 2002.
After Hurricane Katrina, media attention focused on the reduced violent crime rate following the exodus of many New Orleanians. Conversely, A number of cities that took in Katrina evacuees had a significant increase in their murder rate. Houston for example has had a 25% increase in murders from the previous year. Capt. Dwayne Ready has stated "We also recognize that Katrina evacuees continue to have an impact on the murder rate.". Police have not kept records of how evacuees have affected crime rates other than homicide. As more residents return to New Orleans the trend is starting to reverse itself, although calculating the homicide rate remains difficult given that no authoritative source can cite a total population figure. Regardless, statistics show that violent crime has returned to the city.
Indeed, there were 22 homicides in July 2006, the same as the monthly average for the city from 2002 until Hurricane Katrina. There were 161 homicides in 2006.
On Thursday, January 11, 2007, several thousand New Orleans residents marched through city streets and gathered at City Hall for a rally demanding police and city leaders tackle the crime problem. Mayor Ray Nagin said he was "totally and solely focused" on addressing the problem. The city of New Orleans implemented checkpoints starting in early January 2007 from the hours of 2 a.m and 6 a.m. in high crime areas, and, as of January 20, 2007, they had made over 60 arrests and issued more than 100 citations. It is believed that the checkpoints are baby steps to the overall redesign of the criminal justice system to get a better handle on crime.
Although the city has lost more than 40% of its pre-Katrina population, the city has recaptured an infamous unwanted title as the nation`s "murder capital", according to the FBI.
Economy
A tanker on the Mississippi River in New Orleans
Intracoastal Waterway near New Orleans
New Orleans is the home to one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, and accounts for a major portion of the nation`s refinery and production of petroleum, has a top 50 research university (in Tulane University) as well as a half a dozen other institutions of higher education, and is renowned for its cultural tourism.
According to current travel guides, the city of New Orleans is in the top ten of the most visited cities in the United States, and tourism is a major staple in the area`s economy. 10.1 million visitors came to New Orleans in 2004, and the city was on pace to break that level of visitation in 2005. Annually, tourism in New Orleans is a $5.5 billion industry and accounts for 40 percent of New Orleans` tax revenues. Tourism employed 85,000
people, making it New Orleans` top industry.
The city`s colorful Carnival celebrations leading up to Mardi Gras during the pre-Lenten season draw particularly large crowds. Other major tourist events and attractions in the city include the Sugar Bowl, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (popularly known by locals as "Jazz Fest"), the Voodoo Music Experience, Southern Decadence, and the Essence Music Festival, as well as sporting events like Super Bowls and NCAA final fours.
Prior to Katrina, in the Greater New Orleans Area, there were 265 hotels with an inventory of 38,338 rooms. As of May, 2007 there are over 140 metro area hotels and motels in operation with over 31,000 rooms in inventory. According to a CNN poll, released in October 2007, New Orleans is the best city in the United States for live music, cocktail hour and "cheap eats," according to the results of a Travel + Leisure/CNN Headline News poll. New Orleans ranked No. 1 in eight categories, behind only New York City which took the top spot in 15 categories. But, among the top 25 U.S. travel destinations as established by the poll, the city was voted last in terms of safety and cleanliness and near the bottom as a family vacation destination. According to the results, New Orleans is the best city for both flea market and antique shopping and cheap food. The Big Easy also is the top spot for cocktail hour, live music, going out at night, "wild weekends" and "girlfriend getaways." Residents of the Big Easy are also the most fun, according to the poll results. New Orleans ranked second for gay friendliness, overall food and dining, friendliness of residents and people-watching, behind San Francisco, California, Chicago, Illinois Charleston and New York City, respectively. "We weren`t surprised to see New Orleans` great performance," said Amy Farley, a senior editor at Travel & Leisure, which will print the complete results in its November issue. "New Orleans is legendary for its great after dark scene."
New Orleans is also an industrial and distribution center and the busiest port system in the world by gross tonnage. The Port of New Orleans is the 5th largest port in the United States based on volume of cargo handled, second-largest in the state after the Port of South Louisiana, and 12th largest in the U.S. based on value of cargo. The Port of South Louisiana, also based in the New Orleans area, is the world`s busiest in terms of bulk tonnage, and, when combined with the Port of N.O., it forms the 4th largest port system in volume handled. Like Houston, Texas, New Orleans is located in proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, and the many oil rigs lie just offshore. Louisiana ranks fifth in oil production and eighth in reserves in the United States. It is also home to two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage facilities: West Hackberry in Cameron Parish and Bayou Choctaw in Iberville Parish. Other infrastructure includes 17 petroleum refineries with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 2.8 million barrels per day, the second highest in the nation after Texas. Louisiana has numerous ports including the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), which is capable of receiving ultra large oil tankers. Natural gas and electricity dominate the home heating market with similar market shares totaling about 47 percent each.
With the entire product to distribute, Louisiana is home to many major pipelines supplying the nation: Crude Oil - Chevron, BP, Texaco, Shell, Exxon, Scurloch-Permian, Mid-Valley, Calumet, Conoco, Koch, Unocal, Dept. of Energy, Locap. Product - TEPPCO, Colonial, Chevron, Shell, Plantation, Explorer, Texaco, Collins, BP. Liquefied Petroleum Gas - Dixie, TEPPCO, Black Lake, Koch, Chevron, Dynegy, Kinder, Dow, Bridgeline, FMP, Tejas, Texaco, UTP. [63] There are a few energy companies that have their regional headquarters in the city, including Chevron and Shell Oil Company. The city is the home and worldwide headquarters of a single Fortune 500 company: Entergy Corporation, an energy and infrastructure providing company. Freeport-McMoRan, the city`s other Fortune 500 company recently merged its copper and gold exploration unit with an Arizona company and relocated that division to Phoenix, Arizona.
The federal government has a significant presence in the area. The NASA Michoud Assembly Facility is located in the eastern portion of Orleans Parish (New Orleans East) and is operated by Lockheed-Martin. It is a large manufacturing facility where external fuel tanks for space shuttles are produced, and it also houses the National Finance Center operated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In an effort to diversify its economy, tax incentives for movie production companies began to be offered in 2002. This has led to a substantial increase in the number of films shot in the New Orleans area and lead to the nickname of "Hollywood South". Many big-budget and critically acclaimed feature films have been made in New Orleans and around the New Orleans Metropolitan area over the last few years, such as Ray, Runaway Jury, The Pelican Brief, The Skeleton Key, Glory Road, All the King`s Men, Déjà Vu, Last Holiday, Waiting..., Failure to Launch, Stay Alive, 1995`s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and countless other full-length films and documentaries. Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have made New Orleans their home with the purchase of a home in the French Quarter, and a new movie studio complex is to be built in the Treme neighborhood. K-Ville, a cop drama series set in post-Katrina New Orleans, has been picked up for the Fox Network`s 2007-08 prime-time schedule, according to sources in Hollywood, a move that could pump millions of dollars of location production money into the local economy. The show stars Anthony Anderson (The Shield, The Departed) and Cole Hauser (The Cave, Paparazzi).
City leaders in New Orleans want a tax incentive similar to the one for movie productions, for Broadway plays. New Orleans is home to many historical theaters such as the Saenger Theater and believes a tax incentive would bring the nation`s biggest Broadway plays and musicals to the city and would lead to Louisiana, primarily New Orleans, becoming known as "Broadway South". The tax incentive bill would be included during the 2007 Louisiana Legislative Session and would have to be approved.
Other companies with a significant presence or base in New Orleans include the worldwide headquarters of the Entergy and its subsidiaries, Freeport-McMoRan, AT&T, IBM, Navtech, Harrah`s (downtown casino), Popeye`s Fried Chicken, Zatarain`s, Whitney Bank (corp. HQ), Capital One (banking HQ), Southern Comfort, Tidewater (Corp. HQ), McMoran Exploration, and Energy Partners (corp.HQ).
New Orleans Real Estate After Katrina by Andrew Stratton
It has been a challenging couple of years here in South Louisiana ... but today, the New Orleans area and the entire Gulf Coast are roaring back to life as the desirable, viable economies they`ve always been.
New Orleans real estate agents are up and running, ready to sell your home or find the new home you want in the Greater New Orleans area, including all of the commuting areas: Orleans St. James, St. John, St. Charles, St. Tammany and St. Bernard, Tangipahoa, Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes.
Good Living Just Outside New Orleans Proper
Several neighboring Parishes named for Saints James, John, Charles, Tammany and Bernard, are collectively known as "The Saints" and offer delightful small town living within easy commuting distance of the city for sporting events, shopping, dining, sight-seeing or working.
All of these areas experienced an explosion in population and home ownership rates as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina.
After the storm, it was an unbelievable time for New Orleans real estate. Thousands of families were looking for new homes in the few undamaged neighborhoods of New Orleans and in neighboring Parishes. Southeast Louisiana has never seen a housing boom such as this. These families were grabbing up all available houses as close as they could get to their devastated old communities. They are now enjoying the benefits of these communities such as great public schools and a beautiful natural environment.
Easy Living In The Heart Of The Big Easy
If you want to live right in the heart of the city - or close enough to get to its heart in a heartbeat - an experienced New Orleans real estate agent can find homes to meet your specifications, whether it`s a beautiful rebuild or a house that escaped the flood. There`s something for every taste and pocketbook. For instance:
- Nothing says New Orleans! like the Vieux Carre, with its old world charm, famous Royal Street, right in the heart of the Old French Quarter.
- Or, how about elegance with a surprising and somewhat edgy back-story? Consider living in the former home of renowned author Anne Rice.
- The word "elegance" may have been coined to describe the Garden District - and if it wasn`t, it should`ve been. This beautiful area is grand and charming on historic St. Charles Avenue.
- If your lifestyle is less formal and more contemporary suburban, you might consider many of the houses that are gutted and waiting for your personal renovation talents to turn it into the home of your dreams.
Hurricane Katrina created an entirely new world for real estate in New Orleans areas, and the real estate agents have worked to know all there is about the current housing market - rebuilding regulations, new public school and charter school options, qualified contractors, and buying a home in this new era.
Thelatourteam.com has hundreds of New Orleans real estate opportunities to show you. To search for exactly what you want - and within your budget - visit us at http://www.thelatourteam.com/. We`ll have what you`re looking for - and we`ll be happy to show you the property at your convenience.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Stratton
Source:
1. Stratton, Andrew. "New Orleans Real Estate After Katrina." EzineArticles 01 November 2007. 05 November 2007 <http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Orleans-Real-Estate-After-Katrina&id=752161>.
