Housing Crisis Since the American Civil War

216 9 : M E T R O P O L I TA N P R O B L E M S

200,000 people were once again living in New Orleans, less than half of the prestorm

population.

Two years after the disaster, criticism of the U.S. government’s response to the

massive destruction of mostly African-American neighborhoods with their modestly

priced homes still reverberate to the detriment of America’s reputation. The

clear pattern has been to keep displaced poor people from returning by failing to

rebuild low-income housing. According to the Association of City Mayors: “Despite

Hurricane Katrina causing the worst affordable housing crisis since the American

Civil War, HUD is spending $762 million in taxpayer funds to tear down over

4,600 public-housing subsidized apartments and replace them with 744 similarly

subsidized units—an 82 percent reduction. . . . HUD plans to build an additional

1,000 market rate and tax credit units—which will still result in a net loss of 2,700

apartments to New Orleans—the remaining new apartments will cost an average of

over $400,000 each!”

The removal of poor and black people from New Orleans by an opportunistic

government seems to have been for the benefit of real estate interests initially. Private

market entrepreneurs have been allowed to operate by constructing nonsubsidized

dwellings at a profit, and this past summer New Orleans was reported to be

the fastest growing city in the country.

The case study of Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing failure of the federal government

to provide adequately for the victims can inspire extreme cynicism, especially

in regard to former president George W. Bush’s administration. However, it

also has important heuristic value. It demonstrates society’s lack of commitment to

help the less affluent with low-income and affordable housing; it shows how powerful

interests in real estate influence the actions, if not the policies of the federal government;

and it clearly indicates that when natural disasters strike, it is the poor

whose needs are neglected and it is the poor who suffer most. All of these conclusions

can be derived from our sociospatial approach. It is not surprising that capital

is now flowing back into New Orleans at a substantial rate and that the poor and

the black has been replaced by more affluent Americans due to hurricane recovery

policies of housing and urban renewal.

In August 2009, the Associated Press ran an article updating the situation in

New Orleans. Among its observations, it reported:

By one estimate, 36 percent of New Orleans’ housing is empty, and . . . there is no

clear indication when or whether it will be rebuilt. While grace periods for many

mortgage holders after the storm helped New Orleans avoid the high foreclosure

rates other cities have seen, many homeowners haven’t yet decided whether to re-

Box 9.1 continued

Housing Crisis Since the American Civil War

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