Significant Problems in New Orleans - Research Paper Example

Significant Problems in New Orleans New Orleans is one of the cities in the United s, in the of Louisiana that has experienced so many problems for the past years. New Orleans experience more problems that come from political instability, crime and injustice, insecurity, weather and ecological changes and other minimal problems. These problems may not only result to instability, but also lead to problems in international relations. This paper focuses on the significant problems New Orleans face, and their effects on the economy of the state. New Orleans New Orleans is a major city with a port making it among the largest and most significant cities in the United States. Being among the largest city, it has a population of about 343,829 individuals as per the 2010 U.S. census. Additionally, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of about 1,167,764 individuals as per the 2010 census [4]. The city was named the 46th largest area in the United States. This city derives its name from the duke of Orleans, who ruled between 1715 and 1723 as regent for Louis XV. This was given establishment by the French colonists, which was influenced by their culture and the culture of African nature. New Orleans is located in the south eastern of Louisiana that borders the Mississippi River [1]. Population Pressure Among the problems that the city is facing is population pressure. The city has a population of about 343,829 individuals. It is rated as the largest city with a high number of people in the state. If a city has a higher population size, it means that the resources will be over utilized, and thus, there will be lack of adequate resources. New Orleans is in serious problems with a population size of 343,829, which causes pressure in the city. With this in mind there are reported cases of unequal distribution of resources in the city. Consequently, population pressure has created increased levels of insecurity in the city. With a higher population size in the city, more individuals lack job opportunities which make them have low or no income at all. This makes these individuals indulge in criminal activities such as robbery, and other crimes for a living. These crimes act as jobs for the unemployed fellows in the city. Crime incidences have increased in the city with both civilians and police officers committing the crimes. These reduce the level of security in the city with high levels of fear and deaths in the city [5]. Slow Reconstruction Since Hurricane Katrina caused many damages in the city, there has been slow reconstruction of the city. The hurricane caused damages to people’s homes, infrastructure and other social amenities in the city. With this in mind, people’s houses have not been rebuilt, infrastructure have taken time to be put in the state it was before the hurricane [5]. It means that the Katrina had severe effects on the city; hence, it is the main cause to the problems in New Orleans. To date, schools that had been damaged has not been successfully rebuilt thus education has been a problem in the city. With this in mind, the city is really taking time to recover from the incidence of Katrina [3]. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin highlighted that actually ‘God was mad at New Orleans’ [3]. This statement was after he visited the city a couple of times where he noticed slow trends of recovery in the city. With the slow recovery nature of the city, there was support from all corners to see New Orleans recover fast enough to improve on its economy. The congress detached a sum of $67 billion to deal with the Gulf Coast. This was meant to speed up the recovery process in the city. Additionally, the former president of United States of America added a sum of $1.5 billion to strengthen New Orleans levees [5]. Despite all these support, the city is yet to recovery from the damages caused by hurricane Katrina. Economy Deterioration Since the Hurricane Katrina befell the city, people have been nursing their wounds with poverty. Notably, the GDP of the city has been down due to low wages and no income for the individuals. As a result, the economy of New Orleans is down when compared to other cities. This is supported by the report that states the real level of the city. The report shows that the city has a $ 67 million budget deficit. In New Orleans, there is a poverty rate of 23 percent. This rate is about 10 percent more than the national poverty rate. With high poverty levels in the city, the city experiences economic degradation, and thus, poverty is quite rampant. With this in mind, the city is in serious problems, in accordance to other cities in Miss Louisiana [4]. Debris Furthermore, Hurricane debris has not been cleaned up in the city despite the fact that there is a federal program that gives support for the program that pays for debris clean up. This fact depicts several issues that are also evident in the city. For example, there is mismanagement of funds and corruption. If there is a federal program that pays for the process, yet there is slow cleanliness of debris, then where are the funds going? This gives an idea that mismanagement of funds and corruption issues in New Orleans thus it will take time to eliminate such. This state of slow debris cleanliness was first recognized by Senator Susan Collins, who was also the chairperson of the congressional delegates in the city of New Orleans [6]. Debris cleanup should be done very first to avoid more hazardous problems. However, debris cleanup has been affected by corruption. Most of the leaders that are responsible for the process of debris cleanup have been squandering money meant for buying resources that are supposed to be used for debris cleanup. In this point, the major problem is a hurricane Katrina that led to debris and lastly there is slow clean up since the leaders are corrupt. Debate between rebuilding the city and giving checks or vouchers Since Hurricane Katrina caused damages in the city, there is a debate between rebuilding the city and giving the residents checks or vouchers. This debate is also a serious problem in the city since there is no conclusion reached. First of all, the government will pay heavily in reconstructing the city which will cost billions of dollars in reconstructing the city [2]. So the problem is whether the government should pay and reconstruct the city to look more fashionable than it was or just give the residents checks and vouchers instead. If the government decides to reconstruct the city, it may not be able to afford the reconstruction. This will call upon for foreign aids which will subject the city into deficits, debts and poverty. The people affected by hurricane Katrina were supposed to be compensated, but the government has been incapable of reaching a decision of compensating the people who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. As the debate still goes on, the people affected stay uncompensated thus still hold their status as poor individuals. Criminal Activities One serious problem facing the city of New Orleans is crime. Crime of all kinds has reigned the city of New Orleans. To support this, there have been scenes of police officers opening fire on individuals in the city. For example, there was a federal jury and a former police officer, David Warren, who was charged with opening fire on an unarmed man killing him. Before this incident, police and former police officers had been subjected to a life sentence in prison. But with this incident, the court ruled out the case, and the judge ordered for another case leaving David warren scot-free. This showed level of crime and injustice in the city [5]. In addition, it reveals massive corruption by the New Orleans law enforcers. BP Oil Spill The BP oil spill in the city is also the current problem in the city. Just like a hurricane, the BP oil spill was a hazardous problem in the city. This oil spill has led to the destruction of several amenities and properties. The BP oil spill first causes an effect on the environment of the city which may cause health problems later. The oil spill creates may cause a greenhouse effect which result to acid rains and other problems. Undoubtedly, oil spoil in the city is as a result of the Katrina saga in the city. It follows that the many problems that New Orleans face currently is as a result of the Katrina incidence [3]. Hurricane Katrina is responsible for the major problems because of several cases related to this incidence. These cases cause major problems in the city [3]. With the current state of New Orleans as a city, the problems that this city faces are majorly as a result of the Katrina incidence. The city has undergone so many problems that include political instability, economic degradation that results from the oil spill, poverty that results from low income wages, racial disparities, population pressure, criminal activities and insecurity and low reconstruction of the city. Thus, other problems in the city result from other problems. For example, the low reconstruction of the city results from mismanagement of funds and corruption. Mismanagement of funds and corruption is an epidemic that kills a city if not well dealt with. New Orleans is then a city with so many problems as discussed above. Works cited [1] P. Orleans and W. R. Ellis (1971). Race, change, and urban society. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications. [Online]. Available: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED083344 [2] E. J. Blakely, (2012). My storm: managing the recovery of New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. [Online]. Available: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8667236 [3] D. Brinkley (2006), The great deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. New York: Morrow. [Online]. Available: http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Deluge-Hurricane-Mississippi/dp/0061148490 [4] W. Faulkner and C. Collins, (2002). New Orleans sketches. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. [Online]. Available: http://www.mcsr.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/faulkner/r_ssb_nos.html [5] J. Jackson, (1961). Municipal problems in New Orleans, 1880-1896. New York, N.Y.: Sage Publications. [Online]. Available: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/LowPublicationSitemap819.xml [6] N. Klever, (2011). Floating: National Oceanic Living Atelier. New York, N.Y.: Sage Publications. [Online]. Available: http://www.naturalnews.com/ocean.html Read More