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Recovering from Katrina


I had a long conversation with my landlord the other day. He was showing the house we rented from him to prospective renters. We are leaving in the middle of March for our return to Wisconsin. Our mission is complete here. There is a Democrat in the State House. It's time to get one in the Governor's mansion in Madison. (This my story, and I will stick to it.)

He told me a story about how after Katrina struck New Orleans, his son had a tough time handling the loss of his friends and the family home. His friends didn't die. This young middle schooler merely lost track of them, as they scattered all over the area. This happened naturally as their families made decisions on how they would deal with the loss of their homes, neighborhoods, and schools. The young man experienced two middle schools and three high schools as his parents bounced around the Northshore trying to resettle.

I suppose one could say that while this experience isn't anything you would wish on anybody, the situation pales in seriousness compared to what many New Orleanians went through and continue to suffer from the wrath of Katrina and Isac. And you would be right, except you have to look at this from the viewpoint of a twelve-year-old's world and imagine it from his limited perspective.

I went to many different schools in my teens (Five grade schools and three high schools.)  I know the problems of integrating into a community only to have to uproot and move on. When you are that young, you may not be able to see what's going on in your life may not be so bad, even if you are compared to someone else.

Life experiences, no matter how defining, are often only explainable by looking at them from your own viewpoint. The other concern is that often you can't really make anybody or anything responsible for your circumstance.  Maybe, in this case, we could blame Mother Nature for Katrina.  However, we all know she doesn't show up for pity parties.

 Historic Preservation by regentrifying the neighborhood.
 (Another valid comparison of NOLA & Milwaukee.)

A phenomenon in the United States is sometimes referred to as the "back to the cities movement." The regentrification of dense city environments is lead by two demographics; young people and empty nesters. Young people because they want to live with other creative people and experience the youth culture. Empty nesters, who, on the whole, are healthy, vibrant, and bored with the solitude of the "burbs."
Many things happen when the urban areas become populated by residents rather than "guest workers," who only come to work and then retreat to the city's outer rim to their residence.
First, there is an increase in businesses that supply the necessities to these people. Commercial, entertainment, medical, and other services can thrive where there is density. The streets are populated throughout the day and night, seven days a week.

What Milwaukee experienced, and from the column below we can believe is happening in New Orleans, is the repurposing of historic buildings, which provides a continuance of the use of these irreplaceable buildings and a record of the cities history.

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/14898168-171/central-business-district-riding-wave-of-hotel-condo-projects-as-demand-for-downtown-living-surges

Coming Home

Expect to see us in the Fox Valley sometime in the middle to late March. Once we are settled, we will let people know when we will be visiting Milwaukee. I won't put a date on this since getting settled may take a while.

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