Design vs Living (Post Katrina)

Andres Duany of Miami based DPZ, has been a controversial Architect and Planner involved in community design, and specifically New Urbanism. His following is based on acceptance or his “preaching” forcing your acceptance. Everyone else is an outcast to him.

Usually when he or any other egomaniac designer doesn’t get immediate acceptance they will move on to someone who will listen, accept, and pay the bills. However Mr. Duany is a coy business man, next to being an Architect. His tool kit of community planning, and New Urbanist ideas usually are adapted slowly and in small green / grey plots open to development. However in the wake of the Katrina disaster an entire city is in need of design, planning, construction, and humanity. He was not welcomed as much as he brought his own money and time to the table. According to the Wall Street Journal Duany donated 150,000 of his man hours and materials towards a design charette and planning meeting.

This may seem welcome and noble of such an elevated designer, however most if not all of his donation will be repaid by government grants for his assistance in the area. If he happens to succeed in pushing his ideas forward with a desperate community he will also have earned free PR and development rights.

Now in defense of his strategy this is a great time to plan New Orleans properly and to attempt to make it respond to race, income, and welfare of the citizens. On the other hand, many of the homeless citizens will take whatever they are given and as fast as possible. “I don’t give a flip what you call it…Just get me back into my house” So it is critical that Mr. Duany doesn’t recreate Seaside up the coast. While Seaside was a success financially it managed to ostracize all but the richest from the community. Why should the firefighter have to live 45 minutes away?

It is great that some want to step up and help shape new design and developments, but at what cost? I hope Andres Duany is allowed to procede, yet under the guidelines of an externally developed General Plan. This General Plan needs to be derived from community input from all classes and race. These tasks might be hard given the economic situation in New Orleans.