ABSTRACT
A powerful editorial in the December 11, 2005 New York Times, “Death of an American City,” raised the specter that without national political will and leadership, New Orleans would be left to rot from the ravages of hurricane damage. Part of raising New Orleans from its “political deathbed” involves demonstrating that homes and other key structures in working-class neighborhoods can be restored and reoccupied in a timely—yet safe and healthy— manner, at a far lower cost than razing and rebuilding the city.
