Annie Clark

Housing Crisis Keeping New Orleans from Truly Recovering

The New York Times today fronts an incredibly important story (and even equally good video report) on the slow pace of housing recovery in New Orleans. As FEMA readies to evict thousands of low-income residents from their trailers and bulldozers warm up to demolish salvageable public housing, the reality is that very few of those folks are able to find an affordable place to rent back in their home city.

“More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is suffering from an acute shortage of housing that has nearly doubled the cost of rental units in the city, threatening the recovery of the region and the well-being of many residents who decided to return against the odds. Before the storm, more than half of the city’s population rented housing. Yet official attention to help revive the shattered rental home and apartment market has been scant.” ("New Orleans Hurt by Acute Rental Shortage," Dec. 3, 2007)

My organization, PolicyLink, has been fighting for a fair and equitable housing policy on the ground in New Orleans since just after Katrina hit. It has been a struggle at every step. In a city that relied heavily on its affordable rental stock before the storm, the doubling of rents has left the poor unable to afford apartments – if they can find an open rental unit at all.

Though more than 82,000 rental units were damaged or destroyed in the storms, only 33,000 affordable rental units are on track to be rebuilt, according to the PolicyLink report "Bringing Louisiana Renters Home.” Of those apartments even scheduled to be rebuilt, recovery is still slow moving. Very few units will actually be ready to house families being evicted from trailer parks or former public housing residents, many of whom will watch their former apartments be demolished in two weeks.

There is no quick fix to the problem. But passing Sens. Mary Landieu and Chris Dodd’s “Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act” (Senate Bill 1668) would be a good start. Click here to watch a powerful video on the housing crisis and to sign a petition to support the bill. As New Orleanians prepare for their third holiday season away from home, America owes them a chance to finally return.

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Posted at 12:44 PM, Dec 03, 2007 in Housing | Hurricane Katrina
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