Building Resilience in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, reshaping not only the physical landscape of South Louisiana and Mississippi but also the emotional and political contours of our coastal communities. In the storm's wake, many residents were displaced, entire neighborhoods submerged, and longstanding injustices—particularly in housing, infrastructure, and environmental vulnerability—were brought to light for the world to see.

As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the storm, New Orleans stands as a living testament to resilience and the power of community-led recovery rooted in equity and conservation. Across the city, artists, advocates, and environmentalists have spent two decades piecing together a vision of the city that does more than recover—it reimagines the future.

One place where that reimagining takes shape is at the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC). Among its most powerful exhibits is A Vanishing Bounty, which traces the complicated and fragile relationship between Louisiana's coastal communities and the ecosystems they depend on. Through photography, historical documents, and oral histories, the exhibition chronicles the loss of natural bounty—from fisheries to wetlands—caused by land subsidence, industrial encroachment, and increasingly powerful storms. But this exhibit doesn't just reflect on the past; it challenges visitors to consider the ongoing work of protecting coastal Louisiana and restoring the ecosystems that serve as the region's first line of defense.

"New Orleans was established as a port city," said Mark Cave, senior historian at HNOC. "And we've been losing ground as a result of leveeing the river following the 1927 flood. But it's also important to note that our river can create land. So there's been a great deal of conversation and planning around how to use the river to create land here rather than continue to lose it."

That mission aligns closely with the work of local and regional conservation organizations that have led bold restoration efforts since Katrina. Over the past two decades, nonprofits such as Audubon Delta, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, and numerous community-based groups have worked together to replant marsh grasses, restore bird nesting habitats, and promote nature-based infrastructure solutions. Projects to restore Queen Bess Island and Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle demonstrates how conservation is an example of environmental and community resilience.

Bayou Bienvenue was once a lush cypress swamp just north of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. There, many residents remember growing up fishing and boating in the middle of an urban landscape. But a navigation canal constructed nearby, called the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, brought saltwater from the Gulf into the bayou, killing its cypress trees and converting the swamp to open water.

“It was very significant during Hurricane Katrina,” explained Arthur Johnson, chief executive officer for the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED). “That's one of the reasons the water was able to come in and the levees were compromised—because of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet.”

Since the storm, the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet has been closed, and residents of the Lower Ninth Ward have advocated for the restoration of Bayou Bienvenue.

"I'll never forget, it was in 2006," said Charles Allen, Engagement Director for Audubon Delta and a co-founder of CSED. "When the Lower Nine, like a lot of surrounding neighborhoods, were going through our post-Katrina recovery planning efforts, a gentleman named Steven Ringo said we needed to focus on the bayou again. He said he could remember as a kid fishing over there, crabbing over there."

Allen said that the push to restore the bayou was about more than memory—it was about survival. "Steven said, 'We need to restore this. This was immediate storm surge protection for us.' So our work has been a lot of informing the community, but then also hearing from the community."

Katrina gave Allen and others a new appreciation for the surrounding ecosystem. "We talk about the importance of the floodwalls and the levees," he said, "but there's this natural defense system that we have—the coastal wetlands, the trees, the land. Water can be absorbed by soil, but not by concrete. So the more wetlands we have to give us that immediate storm surge buffer, the stronger and more resilient we are."

While ecosystems recover, people must too. In the years leading up to Katrina, access to stable housing in New Orleans was already precarious. For Kathy Laborde, president of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP), the storm didn't expose a new problem—it intensified an old one.

"Before Katrina, we were already working with community organizations that knew housing was essential," Kathy shared. "After the storm, New Orleans received a wave of resources—and we used that momentum to build strategically."

GCHP's mission was to ensure the communities in New Orleans had affordable, climate-resilient housing. They accomplished this by developing LEED-certified apartments and being intentional in serving the community.

"In the efforts of GCHP in rebuilding New Orleans, we lead with intent," Laborde said. "We are transformative builders. We're creating the visual; we want people to follow and build their dreams."

GCHP works in tandem with environmental groups to ensure communities are not just structurally sound, but ecologically viable. "Activists and community organizations made it a priority to meet local needs—especially in conservation and water work," Laborde said.

Twenty years after the storm, many challenges remain. Climate change continues to accelerate the frequency and severity of storms. Sea levels are rising, and coastal land continues to disappear at alarming rates. Systemic in equalities in housing, infrastructure, and disaster response persist. And yet, for those who have invested the last 20 years in recovery, there's also a sense of guarded hope.

"We have to keep building for the long game," Laborde said. "That means resilient housing, yes. But it also means building trust, building partnerships, and building systems that respond to the people first, not just the next crisis."

"If there's one thing the South is known for, it's Southern hospitality," added Melinda Repperger, senior coastal restoration manager for Audubon Delta. "We take care of our neighbors here. So I think that sense of community always has been here and always will be here."

The work in New Orleans is restoring the city and ensuring the next storm doesn't break the city. Communities throughout the city want New Orleans to be stronger, greener, and equitable. They are looking to restore marshes, elevate homes, and continue the legacy of building resilient communities and people.

As visitors walk through A Vanishing Bounty or pass a new GCHP housing development in neighborhoods like Mid-City or Gentilly, they're reminded that the story of Katrina didn't end in 2005.

Because in New Orleans, survival isn't the end goal. Transformation is.