Pulses
Cities don’t die, they wither. The metaphor should not be a tree where the whole thrives together; rather a forest where some parts prosper and others do not. Detroit, Buffalo, Camden, they are have not died, but they have suffered.
People ask me how Biloxi is doing and the answer is, what part do you care about? There are parts, the French Quarter with its raucous tourist scene, the Garden District with its upper class trappings, that are still strong.
Other areas of the city are not so lucky. The areas that flooded badly are reeling. Mile after empty mile, with debris but few humans. I worry about these areas, with their history and architecture and families and parades and food and music. It is these pulses that are not strong. It is hard enough for me, an outsider, to see the city suffer so, for people whose families have lived here for generations, it is heartbreaking.
Everything in the city is exhausting. The roads are clogged because half the stop lights are out. There is trash everywhere. Even grocery shopping, with lines stretching down the aisles, is exhausting.
Local politicians are too scared to make any decisive announcements. The mayor has rejected every proposal that has been circulated about how the city should rebuild. Nothing is going to happen before the elections in May. Compounding the problem, FEMA has not provided maps that show how high residents will need to elevate their homes in order to participate in the flood insurance program. Congress and the Army Corps have not made clear statements about the rebuilding of the levees. Bush (until very recently) has refused to release supplemental money for residents to rebuild.
Cities have a million pulses all bound together. In Biloxi, some of them will survive. Perhaps with a different disaster or a different response, everything would be fine given time. But this has been the largest disaster in the United States in the modern era and the response, local, state and federal, has been pitiful. No city, no matter how strong it was, could come out whole. Biloxi has a fearcely loyal population, which will help it, but it has strikes against it as well, namely a history of weak governance and long sputtering economy. At 6 months, I would say things are not looking well, in another three, or another 12, I don't know.
People ask me how Biloxi is doing and the answer is, what part do you care about? There are parts, the French Quarter with its raucous tourist scene, the Garden District with its upper class trappings, that are still strong.
Other areas of the city are not so lucky. The areas that flooded badly are reeling. Mile after empty mile, with debris but few humans. I worry about these areas, with their history and architecture and families and parades and food and music. It is these pulses that are not strong. It is hard enough for me, an outsider, to see the city suffer so, for people whose families have lived here for generations, it is heartbreaking.
Everything in the city is exhausting. The roads are clogged because half the stop lights are out. There is trash everywhere. Even grocery shopping, with lines stretching down the aisles, is exhausting.
Local politicians are too scared to make any decisive announcements. The mayor has rejected every proposal that has been circulated about how the city should rebuild. Nothing is going to happen before the elections in May. Compounding the problem, FEMA has not provided maps that show how high residents will need to elevate their homes in order to participate in the flood insurance program. Congress and the Army Corps have not made clear statements about the rebuilding of the levees. Bush (until very recently) has refused to release supplemental money for residents to rebuild.
Cities have a million pulses all bound together. In Biloxi, some of them will survive. Perhaps with a different disaster or a different response, everything would be fine given time. But this has been the largest disaster in the United States in the modern era and the response, local, state and federal, has been pitiful. No city, no matter how strong it was, could come out whole. Biloxi has a fearcely loyal population, which will help it, but it has strikes against it as well, namely a history of weak governance and long sputtering economy. At 6 months, I would say things are not looking well, in another three, or another 12, I don't know.
posted by JNA | 7:21 PM
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