Residents ofNew Orleans’ Ninth Ward, an area many declared dead after Hurricane Katrina, know their history – and the resurgent arts district that marks their comeback. They worry that a huge industrial project would bury the great resurrection. And it’s only the latest crisis with which they have grappled.
For all its grandeur and rocking street pageants, New Orleans faced another crisis after the New Year’s Day terrorist attack killed 14 on its globally famed Bourbon Street. Would the killings turn away tourists? The city doubled down on security as it hosted the NFL’s Super Bowl in February, with help from the state government. Lavish media coverage followed. The city rolled into Mardi Gras in early March, with crowded parades, nightclubs, restaurants and art galleries, a healthy boost for New Orleans’s $8bn tourist economy.
