Planning for community resilience: A spatial planning approach to New Orleans’ Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

Abstract

In the face of dramatic environmental and economic change, society must shift its approach to infrastructure investment. No longer can engineering and segregation of land uses and systems solve a city’s problems. We must shift toward a more resilient paradigm, centered on multifunctionality, collaboration with natural systems, and equitable development. In this paper, I propose a holistic approach to neighborhood-level infrastructure planning through the concept of community resilience. This model is based on three pillars of resilience: environment, economy, and culture. I explore this concept through the development of a case study and corridor plan for Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (MLK) in New Orleans. In the literature review I examined the concept of resilience, how various infrastructure systems fit into that concept, and examples of current resilient practices in both the U.S. and the Netherlands. I then examined the existing conditions in New Orleans through digital research, field research, and elite interviews. The interviews, in particular, helped me identify the key issues and appropriate solutions in my study corridor. Finally, I compiled the results of my researched into a set of recommendations in the form of a toolkit for use by the various stakeholders in the community.