NorthWest Carrollton

The Unified Planning Process has a component of selection in the process. Although the process is more of an informal poll than a vote I believe that it gives you the oppertunity to see what Planners actually do. There are those who believe that it is an exercise in fantasy but we can not afford to NOT participate.

Alan and Sarah at Think New Orleans have put together an Audio Town Hall component of the process This service is a fast and easy way to get your questions answered and as the Planning Process unfolds another way to hear about what other Planning Districts are up to.

We need to keep on participating in this project but keep our eyes and ears open as to issues of concern regarding the process. Maitri provides insight over at VatulBlog. Becky Houtman reminds us that public participation should be more than a Buzz Word
and finally for those of us who think that on-line voting is a sure way to have a valid vote Alan at Think New Orleans explains with limited technical lingo the faulty application of an online Vote.

Listen Up !

This UNOP is a giant headache, coupled with todays Announcement of the Non Profit land grab it all makes you wonder if there is in justice in this rebuilding extraveganza.

Here is what Schroeder has to say

What’s that? You want to know why the federal grant money for __neighborhood improvements can’t go straight to the neighborhood organizations, where there’s already grassroots accountability, so they can spend it with whomever they choose _to complete their projects? What a quaint notion. You probably believe in unicorns too, don’t you?

To read more and get an even more giant headache go to

If you read the Times Picayune article , the Sunday Planning event was democracy in action. I am afraid that the folks who were actually there with their butts glued to the plastic chairs,have a different story.

Maitri is somehow managing to cover this event over at her VatulBlog She was sponsoring a contest. Sorry the RFQ has been sent out voting closed. Maybe next time. At at the same time over at Metroblogging
she is filling up the pages with vital information.

I have seen this woman in action and her brain moves at warp speed.

“Hang on it’s going to be a bumpy night”

Do all these acronyms have you down. Fortunatly we have a local blogger who has charted the chaos

And been kind enough to provide us with an acronym guide

If you look at the quality and quantity of Beckys posts you can only reach one conclusion...clone

Check out what Schroeder at “People Get Ready” has to say about yesterdays Planning Fiasco. I am sure there will be many many more opinions posted about this. And I will update. Me?, I am ready for a vacation.

if you are confused visit Becky Houtmans site for the twisting road that is UNOP

Adrastos gives a nice overview of the ride in City Park at the Misery Pavillion

on another note, seems that this would apply to the Dump Site at Walgreens as well
res ipsa loquitur

Each time a question get answered about this process another one gets raised. If the current Buzzwords are to be believed we are engaged in an “open and transparent” process.

Becky Houtman
has written a great article on the progression of this “plan”

And Maitri at MetroBlogging adds her voice and analysis to the current meltdown.

The real Battle for New Orleans appears to be taking place while most of us are sweeping and cleaning, anything new in that?

If anyone is listening this is what the Unified New Orleans Plan feels like. What neighborhood can outperform the others.

Here is a synopsis of the movie {and for all those who comb my posts for errors I know that this is not the Movie Poster, but the Play Poster }

Plot Summary for
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)

A barbaric depression era dance marathon becomes the stage upon which a number of lost souls seek purpose in their lives, cheered on by a lifeless audience and m.c.

Sound familiar?

go here

and to read more go to Becky Houtmans site which offers some analysis of the announcement

Also Maitri at ValulBlog in sponsering a contest and there will be prizes

A New Civic blog coming out of New Orleans East has an open
letter

And Alan who works harder than anyone has set up a WIKI which also is a valuable source.

If all else fails please see this easy graphic chart

Any questions

Sunday, July 30: A city-wide meeting will be held on this day from
12:00 noon until 4:00 pm. The site is the Pavilion of the Two Sisters
at City Park. This meeting will begin the process for community members
to be involved in the selection of the technical assistance teams of
professionals to support them in neighborhood, district and city-wide
planning. Attendees will establish criteria for working with the
assistance teams, define neighborhood boundaries and confirm projects
for each of the 13 planning districts. Everyone is encouraged to
attend. Food and childcare will be provided.

Tuesday, August 1: A second meeting will be held on Tuesday evening
allowing participants to select their top three choices for technical
assistance teams to support their planning process. The site is the
Pavilion of Two Sisters at City Park. Participants will be able to
visit tables for each of the teams to ask questions from 4:00 pm until
6:00 pm. Beginning at 6:00 pm, each of the teams will be conduct formal
presentations. Each team will present twice from 6:00pm until 9:00pm
allowing participants enough time to listen and review these teams.
Following this meeting and until 5:00pm on Friday, August 4,
participants will have the opportunity to select their top three teams.

August 6 – August 11, 2006: The NOCSF Coordination Team and the
Community Support Organization foundation representative will define a
proposed scope and fees for each of the planning projects. Planning
teams will then be assigned based on preference, capacity and cost.

August 14 – August 18, 2006: The NOCSF Coordination Team and the
Community Support Organization foundation representative will define a
proposed scope and fees for each of the planning projects. Planning
teams will then be assigned based on preference, capacity and cost.

An e mail recieved from a NorthWest Carrollton member

New Orleanians have waited for clear direction in the planning process and worried over who was going to end up in charge.
We have yet to get it, either clear direction or even a process to might get us to a clear direction.
We’ve had BNOB.
We’ve had individual neighborhood plans done by folks with either money or connections or both.
We had the City Council-Lambert Planners put in place to try to help those folks who have neither money nor connections and to herd the other planning cats and now ….. drumroll please

We have GNOF, Rockefeller, the NOCSF and the Unified plan.

Interesting that GNOF folks participated in BNOB.
Interesting that GNOF is full of folks which lots of connections. i wonder if I were to look deeply at membership how many of those families are Rex or Comus families.
Interesting that GNOF/Concordia and others are only now stepping to the forefront, now that they have secured financing and feel that they can improve upon (circumvent?) the messy democratic process that should be associated with the follow of federal dollars to New Orleans’ recovery. In short what they have said to New Orleans citizenry and government is: “We have the money and the Rockefeller connections” so now that you are desperate you all have to follow us.”
Interesting that we as citizens continue to be told we MUST PARTICIPATE!!!!!, yet are not provided with details or even the actual locations for the meetings where we can PARTICIPATE will be held by our GNOF/Concordia friends. Perhaps this really is the Comus-Rex Plan and all those GNOF/Concordia/folks with connections really don’t want us to participate as much as they want us to stand on the streets and watch their parade.

To bad they haven’t realized, that Katrina made us more aware and less willing to stand on the sidelines.
This, folks, is fixing to implode.

Yesterday we had members who attended a City wide “Neighborhood” presidents meeting. There seems to be more unanswered questions with this new Unified Plan.

The simple question of where are the City Wide Meetings to be held remains unresolved

This Initiative comes on the heels of the City Council initiative. Combined there have beens contracts worth over 6 million dollars

The question remains, Where will the City Wide Meetings be held, what is the criteria for participation and who how and where will we be voting?

Within the Millions of dollars that has gone to fund these 2 Planning efforts did anyone ask themselves these basic questions. And if they did why are there no answers

now that I have your attention

This was sent to me in an e mail

It is important that folks go to either the July 30 meeting or the Aug 1 meeting if they are interested in indicating a preference for a Technical Assistance Team for District 3. I’ll be facilitating and as I understand it, pre-_registration is strongly encouraged and you will only be able to vote if you attend one of the meetings. This is not a perfect process, but the coordinators have tried hard to balance so many issues of timing, potential fraud, etc. Please see the schedule below:

Monday, July 24, 2006   Information about the neighborhood/planning team alignment process will be placed on the project website www.unifiedneworleansplan.org and disseminated directly to community organizations.

Sunday, July 30, 2006 A city-wide meeting will be held from 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm. The site is to be announced. This meeting will begin the process for community members to be involved in the selection of the technical assistance teams of professionals to support them in neighborhood, district and city-wide planning. Attendees will meet with others from their district to establish criteria for working with the assistance teams, decide if they want to work as a district or establish smaller geographical areas or projects within the districts and define the boundaries for those projects. The public is encouraged to attend. Refreshments and childcare will be provided. Pre-registration is urged, and citizens can register to attend by visiting the project website at www.unifiedneworleansplan.org or by calling the project phone line at 504-522-7065.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006    A second meeting will be held allowing to residents to interview the Technical Assistance Teams. The site is to be announced. Participants will be able to visit information tables for each of the teams to ask questions from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm.  Beginning at 6:00 pm, each of the teams will be conduct formal presentations.   Each team will present twice from 6:00pm until 9:00pm allowing participants enough time to listen and ask questions.

By Friday, August 4. Following this meeting and until 5:00pm on Friday, August 4, participants will have the opportunity to select their top three teams.  The vote is individual, though residents from a district may certainly meet together and discuss their potential choices. Still, only one vote per individual.

August 6     August 11, 2006  Concordia and the New Orleans Community Support Foundation will define a proposed scope and fees for each of the planning projects. Planning teams will then be assigned based on residents' preference, capacity and cost.

August 14  August 18, 2006  District/Neighborhood planning projects will be launched.

Here are my rough notes from a meeting of the Unified Plan This is the Process that was anounced by the Mayor and funded by The Rockefeller Foundation and faccilitated by Concordia.

The web site was launched today, and there will be more content on Monday. We have been told that there are 5 Planning Firms hired to do City Wide Planning. i.e. Highways, Roads and Transit.

Then there are 18 Planning Fimrs selected at the Neighborhood Level.

2 IMPORTANT dates to remember are Sunday July 30
Tuesday Aug 1

On those dates we will be introduced to the Planning Teams and given information to inform our decisions to choose a planner.

The site has not yet been announced.

The route that this plan will then travel is this: A consolidated plan, sent to City Planning and then to City Council. After approval it is sent to the LRA which presents to HUD.

Please keep an eye on the Unified Web Site and I will continue to post here.

H3 Studio (St. Louis, MO)

Goody Clancy (Boston, MA)

ACORN Housing (New Orleans)

Frederic Schwartz Architects (New York, NY)

EDSA (Columbia, MD)

For Neighborhoods only:

EDAW (San Francisco, CA)

E. Eean McNaughton Architects (New Orleans)

Burk-Kleinpeter                   (New Orleans)

Williams Architects (New Orleans)

HDR and HOK (Tampa, FL and St. Louis, MO)

Duany Plater-Zyberk (Miami, FL)

KL&M/ CH Planning           (New Orleans and Philadelphia, PA)

now. (New Orleans; Boston, MA; Charlottesville

_ Davis Brody Bond (New York, NY)_

Torre Design Consortium (New Orleans)

Citywide Infrastructure Planning:

First Recommendation: Villavaso/Henry Citywide Recovery Planning Team (New Orleans)

First Alternate: Louis Berger Group              (East Orange, NJ)

Second Alternate: Perez/Goody Clancy          (New Orleans, Boston

After months of planning to plan the news is in..we have a plan to plan. We would like to think we can move forward with ideas and plans we have for a better Post k enviroment

This is a copy of A Letter to the Editor from a Resident of NorthWest Carrollton
As a recovering neighbor in a flooded neighborhood on the edge of the Isle of Denial I looked around to the few neighbors who were back and we all said: HUH?!!!! or “We’ve got to get busy” and “How the heck do we prove our viability or plan?” So we organized, we went to countless meetings, we learned and we were annoyed by the conflicting signals being sent from Federal, State and City government as well as the well meaning non-profit organizers. Some neighborhoods “have money to hire their own planners others have worked connections with local and national universities, _some neighborhoods used both money and connections to start their plans._

In January BNOB said that neighborhoods had to prove their viability.

Many neighborhoods had neither money nor connections and were left to figure it out for themselves, while they were rebuilding their houses and lives.

The City Council’s Planning process allows these “have not” neighbors and neighborhoods a voice. Has the process been perfect? Nope. Welcome to PostKatrina New Orleans. In case you haven’t noticed, not much is perfect.

But if you take the time to attend the meetings, talk to the planner or planners directly, speak to Mr. Lambert (who attends the meetings) directly and explain your frustrations, concerns, ideas then, I promise you, the City
Council Planners will listen and respond and work with you. This is true bottom up grassroots planning by the neighborhoods and the neighbors who are here struggling to make it work. We can not throw the baby out with the bathwater just because the GNOF _and the Rockefeller Foundation have ridden in their white horses. Lest we forget, the funding for the GNOF planning and the associated recovery funding is coming in on the backs of flooded, recovering neighbors. The plan to fold the work of the City Council planning process and other independent planning processes into the work being done by GNOF honors the work of citizens who have been at this for a long, long time. Let our city government work out a process that joins the City Council planning efforts and GNOF efforts It is possible. To assure continuity in the planning process key contacts from neighborhood groups who have actively participated in building their own plans or working with City Council planners should be included in GNOF’s efforts. The CSO process and associated contacts are not enough. I am glad the Rockefeller foundation is working here in New Orleans. I’m sure they will do good work.

We must collaborate and cooperate to make this work. By “we” I mean all of us: Neighbors, Non-Profits, Federal-State-City governments, Wet and Dry, Back and Not back, all of us. Because if we New Orleanians do not all stand together in our recovery and planning then we shall surely all drown together. And most of us know what that is like and do not care to repeat it.

Jenel Hazlett

NorthWest Carrollton

That is what it says at the Greater New Orleans Foundation
So here we have yet another process that uses the words open and transparent, while not notifying the community in any real way.

So watch out for these Buzz Words, grass roots, bottom up, or Neighborhood driven. Because so far we have been underserved, underinformed.

We really do appreciate the efforts of the Rockefeller Foundation we appreciate the efforts of City Council and Our Mayor. I just wonder why our future is in the hands of people who seem not to care to notify us of plans in the making

This just in from Gov. Blanco sounds like we will at least have the concept of a plan, hey it has only been 10 months since the Apocalypse

Here we are awaiting a plan, awaiting a planner and awaiting Federal money to rebuild. Stay tuned to this site for an announcement regarding a Festival of Planning.

While the rest of the country seems to be aware of the lack of planning in New Orleans most of us who live here are so busy trying to fix and reclaim properties that we are unaware of what is going on. According to the Sunday New York Times it would seem that we are a rudderless ship. While we talk about Planning and Meet about Planning the real planning is going on behind our backs. It is time to call a halt to all new development, get a grasp of the task at hand and proceed forward with a clear and unified vision.