Hastert [and Me]: Bulldoze Most of New Orleans

Hastert: Bulldoze Most of New Orleans:

"It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans.

"'It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed,' the Illinois Republican said in an interview Wednesday with The Daily Herald of Arlington, Ill."

I applaud Speaker Hastert for saying what I've been thinking these last few days. There will be a new New Orleans, but maybe we ought to make it clear the whole country may not willing to pay for another one anytime soon.

At a minimum, the city and state officials in New Orleans ought to consider whether some parts of the city which are going to have to be mostly bulldozed flat anyway ought to be brought up to at least a few feet above water level. It would be a fairly large earthfill project, but it presents few technical challenges. Every block of the new city that is above, rather than below, water level is a block that doesn't need to be pumped continuously even in normal times to remain habitable.

The historic downtown, if the old buildings which give it its visual charm can be preserved, might justfy being rebuilt below water level with better floodwalls and enhanced pumping capabilities. This would do a lot to allow the city to keep its role as a major tourist and convention destination. But most of the "ordinary" parts of the city ought to be filled in and streets and utilities replaced before landowners are invited back in to rebuild homes and businesses.

Rebuilding N.O. is a project that will take years. The mayor has made it clear nothing can begin along those lines until early in the new year. Once the authorities get caught up with the search for survivors and recovery of bodies there will be plenty of time to begin this debate in earnest.