Environmental Management: Policy and Implementation

An analysis of environmental factors that influence demographic geography before and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

Our Keller Family Venture Grant project entitled "Environmental Management: Policy and Implementation in the Era of Climate Change" created an opportunity to visit New Orleans from December 27, 2019 - January 4, 2020.

Description of the Project:

We researched the relationship between managing environmentally vulnerable communities in the context of local, state, and national political communities. We conducted research at the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, several nonprofit organizations, and the New Orleans Public Library. Our project goal was to gain an understanding of how communities manage natural and constructed environments that are susceptible to negative impacts of climate change. We were particularly focused on differences in environmental management between communities, either local, state, or national, that historically vary in their political support for environmental protections.

Description of Methodology:

New Orleans was chosen because it is the optimal city to study how the effects of climate change can and cannot be combatted through policy and community efforts, as it has experienced extreme, tangible manifestations of climate change for decades. We visited two nonprofit organizations: Grow On Urban Farms and Green Light New Orleans. The former is an urban farm that specializes in education, sustainable living and gardening, and creating a community space with an alternative economy. The later focuses on housing sustainability by providing rain barrels, raised beds, and eco-friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs to residents of New Orleans at subsidized rates. We interviewed the manager of each institution and co-workers at Green Light New Orleans, learning about their mission and goals of individually-focused change while farming or painting rain barrels. The nonprofits that we chose provided an understanding of how civilians, outside of the public sector, have taken initiative to combat the effects of climate change. We were also able to interview a National Fish and Wildlife Service (NFWS) volunteer at the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and learn from their community center. Memorable aspects include methods of native species and coastal ecosystem conservation including sediment diversion projects, water management, reforestation, artificial nest structures, and monitoring air quality. Because this refuge was established as an act of environmental management and protection, we were especially curious how its managers were thinking about environmental protection today, over two decades later. The environmental protection of urban communities from the effects of climate change is central to this mission of the Big Branch Marsh refuge, making it the perfect case study for learning how our public lands and environmental management strategies can adapt to changing climates, and how local communities are involved with environmental management strategies that affect their livelihoods. We investigated both ongoing or immediate detriment and benefit from the management of global climate change at a broad level in New Orleans and specific infrastructure management and environmental integrity of these NFWS refuges. Finally, we became registered researchers in the Louisiana Public Library System to understand environmental policy and advocacy undertakings, particularly prior to and directly after Hurricane Katrina. We examined relevant literature in academia and recent policy measures and recorded eye-witness accounts of policy implementations and ecological intricacies of the refuges. We compiled our interview results in conjunction with available academic literature to better our understanding of the relationship of environmental politics and demographic change.

Information Outside Grow On Urban Farms

Ellie Harvesting Peppers in the Garden of Grow On Urban Farms

Clean Radishes at Grow On Urban Farms

Rosa with Peppers in the Kitchen of Grow On Urban Farms

Research at the Downtown New Orleans Public Library

Rosa Attempting Microfiche

Rosa at the Mississippi River

Ellie at the Mississippi River

An Impressionistic Painting of a Louisiana Bayou at The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)

A Plaque Explaining an Art Exhibit at The NOMA that Pertains to our Project

The Tina Freeman exhibition exemplified environmental degradation as a result of climate change across the globe. The photos visually compare the destruction of the Louisiana wetlands with the breaking up of arctic ice sheets. This parallel loss illustrates how all environments, regardless of location and micro-climate, are connected through the effects of global climate change.

Information Outside Green Light New Orleans

Rosa and Ellie with their Painted Rain Barrels

Ellie and Rosa at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

Academic Results:

Geographic Variables Considering Hurricane Katrina: Elevation, Parish Boundaries, Parks, Hydrology Features, and Flood Protection Levees (2006)

Geographic Variables. Note: White Areas are Low Elevation

Bathymetry Data of the Region

Geographic Variables. Note: White Areas are Low Elevation

Demographic Variables Considering Hurricane Katrina

Katrina’s floodwaters overwhelmed a levee in the Industrial Canal and spilled into the Lower Ninth Ward

Click on neighborhood to observe demographic information pre (2000) and post (2010) Hurricane Katrina. Key for graphs: OHU (Occupied Housing Units), WANH (White and Non Hispanic), BANH (Black and Non Hispanic).

Percent of Total Occupied Housing Units in Orleans Parish by Neighborhood Statistical Area

Percent of Occupied Housing Units in Orleans Parish 2000

Percent of Occupied Housing Units in Orleans Parish 2010

Total Population of White Alone, not Hispanic or Latino, Housing Units in Orleans Parish by Neighborhood Statistical Area

Total Population of White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, in Orleans Parish 2000

Total Population of White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, in Orleans Parish 2010

Total Population of Black or African American Alone, not Hispanic or Latino, Housing Units in Orleans Parish by Neighborhood Statistical Area

Total Population of African American alone, not Hispanic or Latino, in Orleans Parish 2000

Total Population of African American alone, not Hispanic or Latino, in Orleans Parish 2010

Note: Individually, Asian - Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and Other (not Hispanic or Latino) comprise less than 5% of the total occupied housing units in Orleans Parish.


Summary: Wider city responses to climate change reveal racial biases. Areas with low elevation and high levee reliance experienced the highest amount of housing damage from Hurricane Katrina. In the downtown area, these low elevation areas have since encountered an increased total population of white citizens and decreased total population of African American citizens. In the surrounding suburbs, these low elevation ares have since found an increased population of African American citizens. Consistent with findings from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., The Road Home Homeowner Assistance Program, which provided federal rebuilding assistance post Hurricane Katrina, included racial bias. African American-owned homes, typically with lower pre-storm values than white-owned homes, were more likely to receive rebuilding grants based on low pre-storm values, whereas white communities were more likely to receive grants based on estimated cost of rebuilding. African-American communities found larger gaps in their rebuilding resources and often did not rebuild and moved elsewhere. This disparate impact on African American communities, and other features of institutionalized racism, have influenced neighborhood dynamics. These graphs illustrate this trend and question how environmental vulnerability will shift a community demographic if bias is included in its environmental policy. This correlation furthers the importance of environmental conservation in a dynamic system that impacts racial demographics in a biased manner.

Personal Impact for Students:

Volunteering at these two nonprofits, visiting the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge, and spending multiple days at the New Orleans Public Library allowed us to expand our understanding and further inspired our curiosity. We investigated ongoing or immediate detriment and benefit from the management of global climate change at a broad level, and the environmental justice issue of housing in New Orleans. We examined city council and mayoral records at the library, combine these with knowledge of work done to preserve natural landscapes, neighborhoods, and the education of others. From this we formed a coherent picture of climate resilience and vulnerability in New Orleans. Furthermore, by examining a legal case by the NAACP in the library and combining this with data to form the Arc GIS maps above, a demographic trend can be clearly illustrated that highlights housing instability that is racially biased. These findings implore us think critically about the social implications of environmental policy. We also formed connections and learned research techniques like formal interviewing and library research that will last a lifetime!

Further Implications:

Climate change is a global crisis affecting the lives of all people. Environmental management and climate change mitigation policy are vital pieces of the efforts to prevent environmental damage. The health and continuity of natural resources is consequential to the health and continuity of life everywhere. We hope that our research both informs and empowers our viewers. Policies are shaped by elected officials who are answerable to their constituents. Our project is significant in that by educating a constituency, and encouraging them to take action, our research has the potential to influence environmental policy.

The CC community who interacts with the story map will benefit from gaining an understanding of how some of the nation’s most vulnerable environments are being managed. We hope to give viewers specific information to communicate to their elected political representation at any governing level. Our results clearly illustrate the racial and social discrepancy surrounding climate vulnerability in urban environments. We hope this information encourages viewers to recognize similar phenomena globally.

Upon return to Colorado Springs we examined a comparison of New Orleans and Colorado Springs in terms of environmental management plans and attitudes. This correlates to the placement and activity of the Martin Drake Power Plant and how this relates to demographics in a racially biased manner in Colorado Springs. Further analysis is needed to create GIS visuals of Colorado Springs housing throughout the timeline of the power plant. We are also interested in the ongoing environmental stressors of Colorado Springs including water management and contamination. Furthermore, we can advocate for sustainable solutions of urban land management, housing, and conservation from our various experiences. This review considers differences in political geography and policy implementation. We analyzed how environmental diversity between the two geographic locations changed proximity to climate disaster and how this affects how policy is written and applied. New Orleans has already experienced the extreme consequences of climate change to an urban environment, whereas Colorado Springs attempts to address increasing effects of climate change to its citizens and mitigate its demographic bias.

Acknowledgements:

We would like to thank the Keller Family for the support of our project. The Venture Grant fund is an incredible resource to pursue individualized projects that highly correlate to interest and current events. This project informed and inspired our lives. We hope to create a more sustainable and just future.

Citations:

Shapefile and Raster (Elevation file) Sources:

Map Source: City of New Orleans GIS Neighborhood Statistical Areas, January 2020

Demographic Table Source: Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, January 2020

City of New Orleans GIS. (2018, June 11). Parks Shapefiles for New Orleans. Retrieved January 12, 2020, from City of New Orleans GIS: https://portal-nolagis.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/parks-polygon.

US Census Bureau. (2000). 2000TIGER/Line Shapefiles for: Louisiana Counties. Retrieved January 14, 2020, from US Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/index.php. 

US Census Bureau. (2019, September 6). 2019TIGER/Line Shapefiles for: Orleans Parish, LA, Area Hydrography Count-Based Shapefile. Retrieved January 14, 2020 from US Census Bureau: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/tiger-line-shapefile-2019-county-orleans-parish-la-area-hydrography-county-based-shapefile.

US Army Corps of Engineers. (2014, April 1). 2006USACE Shapefiles for: Louisiana Flood Protection Levees 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2020 from USACE: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=a93d9c4c0de84a0090f162569b923efa.

LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology. (Beginning in 2000). 2000 USGS Quarter Quad DEM Data Shapefiles for: Elevation Data for Louisiana. Retrieved January 14, 2020 from Atlas Louisiana GIS: https://atlas.ga.lsu.edu/datasets/lidar2000/.

Background Information: Payton, John. "Road Home Lawsuit." Louisiana Public Archives, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2008.

Image sources: William Widmer for the New York Times. February 24, 2018. New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/24/us/new-orleans-flood-walls-hurricanes.html Accessed 15 January 2020.

Vincent Laforet for the New York Times. February 24, 2018. New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/24/us/new-orleans-flood-walls-hurricanes.html Accessed 15 January 2020.

Information Outside Grow On Urban Farms

Ellie Harvesting Peppers in the Garden of Grow On Urban Farms

Clean Radishes at Grow On Urban Farms

Rosa with Peppers in the Kitchen of Grow On Urban Farms

Research at the Downtown New Orleans Public Library

Rosa Attempting Microfiche

Rosa at the Mississippi River

Ellie at the Mississippi River

An Impressionistic Painting of a Louisiana Bayou at The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)

A Plaque Explaining an Art Exhibit at The NOMA that Pertains to our Project

The Tina Freeman exhibition exemplified environmental degradation as a result of climate change across the globe. The photos visually compare the destruction of the Louisiana wetlands with the breaking up of arctic ice sheets. This parallel loss illustrates how all environments, regardless of location and micro-climate, are connected through the effects of global climate change.

Information Outside Green Light New Orleans

Rosa and Ellie with their Painted Rain Barrels

Ellie and Rosa at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge

Katrina’s floodwaters overwhelmed a levee in the Industrial Canal and spilled into the Lower Ninth Ward