(From left) David Marcello, Tulane University; Luceia LeDoux, Baptist Community Ministries; Karen DeSalvo, City of New Orleans; and UNO professor John Renne
The University of New Orleans served as the host on the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina for a forum and book release of Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons From the U.S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita. The event was a joint project of UNO, The Brookings Institution and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.
Top academic and policy experts discussed many of the topics raised in the book including education, transportation, health care, criminal justice, ethics and social justice. The event culminated with a conversation with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and The Brookings Institution’s Amy Liu.
Resilience and Opportunity, published by The Brookings Institution Press, examines the most important ingredients in post-disaster recovery, with an eye toward rebuilding communities that are more resilient and prosperous in the face of multiple disasters. The book presents the complex lessons of the Gulf so that the region’s experience can help other communities respond to loss with resilience. As devastating as the storms of 2005 were, they also produced a teachable moment, and Resilience and Opportunity is an important contribution to that teaching process. A number of leading scholars contributed chapters to the book, including John Renne, UNO professor of planning and urban studies, who is an expert on evacuations.