Sustainable New Orleans - Research Paper Example

Owing to the enactment of the legislation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers were charged with the responsibility of building artificial levees and floodwalls around the city so as to protect its residents and property from possible destruction by hurricanes and strong winds. This paper will discuss the sustainability of New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to the city of New Orleans; the magnitude of damage defying measure. The natural disaster has been credited with the loss of at least 1,836 with property worth about 81 billion US dollars (Colten 45).

Most damage caused by the hurricane occurred due to the catastrophic failure of the levee system which was meant to regulate water levels. As a result of this failure, the city got severely flooded, the floodwaters remaining in place for weeks on end. The worst damage was experienced in coastal region, the worst of which occurred in the Mississippi beachfront towns making what has been considered the worst engineering failure in the history of the United States of America. During the disaster, casino barges, and water vessels, rammed into constructions and inland houses, the floods stretching between 10 and 19 kilometers from the beaches.

With the city currently recovering from the massive damage and loss caused by Hurricane Katrina, it is only reasonable from the government, residents, private and public organizations to take every measure to ensure that no such damage and loss occur in the future in case of a similar disaster. There are several measures that could be taken in the rebuilding of New Orleans in a sustainable way – “without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” as stated by grist (Lange para1).

The following sections of this paper will dwell on the eco- friendly rebuilding of the city for better development and better