On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Five years later, many residents are still living in trailers, while some, who evacuated, still haven’t returned home. VOANews.com reports that in New Orleans “a total of about 50,00 residential properties are still either uninhabitable or empty lots.”
Still, it appears, there’s hope in the region.
Gulf Coast resident Ed Wikoff, who decided to stay and rebuild with his wife, told “Good Morning America,” that “this is a great opportunity, I think, for our community to make some significant improvements. You can see some of that happening.”
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper echoed Wikoff’s sentiments in an interview with the Huffington Post. “A lot of the money that’s been promised has been delivered on,” he said. “The convention business is back, restaurants are back. There’s a kind of new life … and a grassroots movement here as well, which is exciting.”
In fact, according to a recent Brookings Institute report, “in the last five years, greater New Orleans is rebounding and, in some ways, doing so better than before.” This progress is due to:
- Rebuilding activities that allowed for relatively mild job loss during the recession.
- Emerging growth in knowledge-based industries caused by a decrease in the region’s traditional tourism, oil and gas, shipping, ship building, and food manufacturing jobs.
- Improved wages brought on by more knowledge-based jobs.
- Increased entrepreneurship.
Indeed, according to CNN, New Orleans became “a start-up city” after Katrina. Organizations like The Idea Village are working to “foster entrepreneurial talent by providing business strategies and access to development grants, talent and innovative work spaces.”
The “Intellectual Property,” an 85,000 square-foot building, is home to “a collection of vibrant, entrepreneurial companies,” including The Idea Village. And 504ward is dedicated to connecting these entrepreneurs from outside New Orleans with the local culture.
Meanwhile, New Orleans has also taken this time as an opportunity to improve its public education system. But more on that Monday.
What do you think of New Orleans’ entrepreneurial spirit? How might it help the city improve? Could this environment work in other cities?