GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS IN FLOOD MANAGEMENT:A CASE STUDY OF NEW ORLEANS

Abstract

The socio-economic disparities, cultural practices, and institutional capacities of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. impacted the initial response to Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, as well as the long-term recovery and present-day mitigation efforts by the local, state, and federal governments. Examining the current practices, perceptions, and future plans of flood management strategies for New Orleans, a city considered to be among those most affected by future climate change impacts, the findings of this report contribute to the identification of the key issues of sustainable urban flood disaster management. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews as the scope of this research concerns the relationship between perspectives of different key stakeholders: (1) community organizers, (2) members of governmental organizations, and (3) representatives of NGOs of flood management in New Orleans. A purposive sampling approach was used to locate a small sample cases with productive, in-depth experiential data required by the nature of the research. Data comprised the statements on organizational roles, capacities, and resources the participants used to express their views and involvement with the issues. The findings show that while New Orleans has clearly defined flood management institutions for high-level flood management capacity, interagency and community cooperation is a key driver to towards the city becoming more resilient to flood disaster. Although the primary strategy for managing future flood disaster continues to be the improvement of the levee system, a modern understanding of the risks from hurricane hazards will be a key factor of the city’s future flood management approach.