Fire & Flood: How the Lessons of the Past can Apply to the Present to Build the Future

On August 29, 2005 the most destructive natural disaster to ever befall the United States made landfall initially near Buras, Louisiana and then ultimately near the mouth of the Pearl River. The associated storm surge caused New Orleans\u27 protective levee system to fail, inundating the City with brackish floodwaters for weeks on end. This was not the first time the City of New Orleans was crippled by disaster. In 1788 and 1794, the city suffered two major fires; the first burning 856 buildings and the second 212. These were significant losses in a city that had a building stock of approximately 1,000 buildings before the events. By recognizing the lessons learned in the earlier reconstructions of New Orleans, we can gain a better understanding of the rebuilding process that may forever effect the physical and cultural environments in the City of New Orleans

Oil, Indifference, and Displacement: An Indigenous Community Submerged and Tribal Relocation in the 21st Century

Coastal land loss driven by erosion and subsidence, and amplified by climate change, has forced the abandonment and resettlement of the remote Louisiana Indigenous community of Isle de Jean Charles. This relocation, to a relatively ‘safer’ site inland has led to division among the residents and will inevitably cause irreparable damage to the culture and traditions of the Houma and Biloxi Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees peoples who called this small, isolated island home. Driven to the water’s edge by European colonization of south Louisiana, this community developed a dynamic subsistence lifestyle based on agriculture, hunting, and fishing which survived undisturbed until the discovery of oil in the swamps of south Louisiana in the early twentieth century. Since that time, destruction of the delicate ecosystem by oil exploitation and channelization of the Mississippi River led to persistent and continuous land loss. This article explores the historic settlement of the Isle de Jean Charles, the struggles of this Indigenous community in gaining recognition, and the ultimate abandonment of the Isle de Jean Charles to the natural erosive effects of the Gulf of Mexico when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined protection of the community was not warranted by their cost-benefit analysis. As a result of this series of events, the State of Louisiana obtained federal funding to relocate the community, but additional protections must be ensured to protect the cultures and traditions of this relocated Indigenous community so their Tribal heritage, unlike their land, is not consumed by the open waters

They Took My Bedroom: A Case Study of Eminent Domain in New Orleans

Of the many powers granted to federal, state, and local governments through the Constitution of theUnited States, eminent domain is possibly the strongest and most imposing, at least as it relates to citizens’ property rights. This dissertation explores several large-scale public undertakings inNew Orleansduring the period from 1929 to 2011 in which the application of eminent domain was necessary to accomplish the government’s goals. This research window will allow the analysis of eminent domain applications from the construction of the Municipal Auditorium through the new medical center projects spurred by the flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina. This timeframe also allows for evaluation of the interaction between planning inNew Orleansand the City’s exercises of eminent domain. By better understanding the past uses of eminent domain and the goals and policies that drove the exercise of this power, researchers and planning practitioners will be better informed in making decisions that will impact the rebuilding and the future ofNew Orleans. The specific cases studied as part of this dissertation are: the Municipal Auditorium (Chapter 2); the development of Public Housing (Chapter 3); the Civic Center (Chapter 4), Bridges and Highways (Chapter 5), the Cultural Center (Chapter 6); and the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans and Veterans Administration Medical Center (Chapter 7). The reason for evaluating all types of projects resulting in the use of eminent domain use inNew Orleansis because all have profound impacts on the communities in which this governmental power is exercised. The primary finding of this dissertation is that the exercise of eminent domain has never been used a principal tool in the implementation of redevelopment proposals in the city ofNew Orleans. All projects throughout the established research period required the use of governmental expropriation authority to complete land acquisition, but in all cases the government’s authority was used conservatively and only when privately negotiated purchases failed

They Took My Bedroom: A Case Study of Eminent Domain in New Orleans

Of the many powers granted to federal, state, and local governments through the Constitution of theUnited States, eminent domain is possibly the strongest and most imposing, at least as it relates to citizens’ property rights. This dissertation explores several large-scale public undertakings inNew Orleansduring the period from 1929 to 2011 in which the application of eminent domain was necessary to accomplish the government’s goals. This research window will allow the analysis of eminent domain applications from the construction of the Municipal Auditorium through the new medical center projects spurred by the flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina. This timeframe also allows for evaluation of the interaction between planning inNew Orleansand the City’s exercises of eminent domain. By better understanding the past uses of eminent domain and the goals and policies that drove the exercise of this power, researchers and planning practitioners will be better informed in making decisions that will impact the rebuilding and the future ofNew Orleans. The specific cases studied as part of this dissertation are: the Municipal Auditorium (Chapter 2); the development of Public Housing (Chapter 3); the Civic Center (Chapter 4), Bridges and Highways (Chapter 5), the Cultural Center (Chapter 6); and the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans and Veterans Administration Medical Center (Chapter 7). The reason for evaluating all types of projects resulting in the use of eminent domain use inNew Orleansis because all have profound impacts on the communities in which this governmental power is exercised. The primary finding of this dissertation is that the exercise of eminent domain has never been used a principal tool in the implementation of redevelopment proposals in the city ofNew Orleans. All projects throughout the established research period required the use of governmental expropriation authority to complete land acquisition, but in all cases the government’s authority was used conservatively and only when privately negotiated purchases failed

MANDATORY ARBITRATION AND LGBTQ+ HOSTILE WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS: A REVIEW OF THE ENDING FORCED ARBITRATION ACT, ITS IMPACT, AND IMPLICATIONS

In 2022, the 117th Congress amended the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in response to widespread public pressure to change the culture of American employment. After years of pervasive sexual harassment across industries, supported by the growth of mandatory, adhesive arbitral agreements in employment contracts, Congress adopted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (“Ending Forced Arbitration Act”) which rendered unenforceable pre-dispute arbitral agreements for claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Oil, Indifference, and Displacement: An Indigenous Community Submerged and Tribal Relocation in the 21st Century

Coastal land loss driven by erosion and subsidence, and amplified by climate change, has forced the abandonment and resettlement of the remote Louisiana Indigenous community of Isle de Jean Charles. This relocation, to a relatively ‘safer’ site inland has led to division among the residents and will inevitably cause irreparable damage to the culture and traditions of the Houma and Biloxi Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees peoples who called this small, isolated island home. Driven to the water’s edge by European colonization of south Louisiana, this community developed a dynamic subsistence lifestyle based on agriculture, hunting, and fishing which survived undisturbed until the discovery of oil in the swamps of south Louisiana in the early twentieth century. Since that time, destruction of the delicate ecosystem by oil exploitation and channelization of the Mississippi River led to persistent and continuous land loss. This article explores the historic settlement of the Isle de Jean Charles, the struggles of this Indigenous community in gaining recognition, and the ultimate abandonment of the Isle de Jean Charles to the natural erosive effects of the Gulf of Mexico when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined protection of the community was not warranted by their cost-benefit analysis. As a result of this series of events, the State of Louisiana obtained federal funding to relocate the community, but additional protections must be ensured to protect the cultures and traditions of this relocated Indigenous community so their Tribal heritage, unlike their land, is not consumed by the open waters