ABSTRACT

This volume of APA's Delta Urbanism series traces the development of New Orleans from precolonial times to post-Katrina realities, in the context of the deltaic plain on which it lies. The book describes the underlying physical terrain and covers the various transformations humans have made to it: site selection, settlement, urbanization, population, expansion, drainage, protection, exploitation, devastation, and recovery. What New Orleans has experienced foretells what similar cities will be tackling in years to come.

chapter 1|7 pages

Delta Formation

chapter 2|3 pages

Delta Topography

chapter 3|7 pages

Settling the Delta

chapter 4|3 pages

Urbanizing the Delta

chapter 5|5 pages

Why There?

chapter 6|5 pages

Colonial-Era Flood Control

chapter 7|5 pages

A Radical Change of Destiny

chapter 8|8 pages

Unwritten Rules of Urban Expansion

chapter 9|6 pages

The Unplanned Street Plan

chapter 10|6 pages

Antebellum Flood Control

chapter 11|6 pages

Populating the Antebellum City

chapter 12|9 pages

Populating the Postbellum City

chapter 13|9 pages

Draining the Deltaic City

chapter 14|9 pages

Turn-of-the-Century Flood Control

chapter 15|6 pages

Buffering the Deltaic City

chapter 16|19 pages

Twentieth-Century Delta Urbanism

chapter 17|14 pages

Perceiving the Delta City

chapter 18|14 pages

Environmental Consequences of Delta Urbanism

chapter 19|10 pages

Devastating the Deltaic City

chapter 20|15 pages

"Plandemonium"

chapter 21|13 pages

Repopulating the Deltaic City

chapter 22|6 pages

Delta Urbanism: Lessons from New Orleans