The defining of public and private spaces has been extremely
relevant in New Orleans, as the Jindal and Landrieu administrations work with developers to push
various measures geared to further privatize spaces and institutions, often in
the name of boosting the economy.
High-profile disruptions of people’s lives such as the demolition and
subsequent privatization of traditional public housing, privatization of public schools, and razing of Lower
Mid-City for the LSU/VA hospital are underscored by a slew of similar though less noticeable
regulations and acts. Often these actions were pushed into existence primarily by groups misrepresenting the directly affected populations, such as development groups, neighborhood property owners, and others who may have well-meaning intentions. Section 8
recipients are denied
a voice in their fates, a positive century-old celebratory
tradition is deflated, Duncan Plaza’s homeless encampments evicted, public
free
speech is limited, small businesses + events with DIY promotions can't advertise and are labelled as "bandits", Second Line vendors need
permits*, public housing residents can’t have gardens or hang out on their
porches, wording of zoning
is exploited to curtail live music… on and on.
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| “if you party in the streets, you are on OUR turf. If you are on OUR turf, you gotta do it how WE want. If you don’t play by our rules, you cant play, and we’ll put other ‘conforming’ people in yr place because you’ve set yourself up as a cultural mainstay that we gotta keep alive for our own benefit. You are dispensable, and the city is NOT YOURS.” – city regulatory logic, a snake eating its own tail weighing on the shoulders of those who built its nest. |
Economy is derived from oikos,
"house," and nemein, "to manage." Eco- commonly
refers to “environment.” Economy = environmental management, though
“Economics” is concerned with the
production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in a country,
region, or community. In a capitalist
system of dealing with goods + services (a capitalist economy, for short), it
can be understood that our environment is managed through capital. Capital (material wealth in the form of
money or property, used or accumulated in a business for production of more
wealth) in American cities drives the rationale behind decisions being made by
administrators, as evidenced by several links in this post. Decisions on shaping the city of New Orleans –
or any space – based on capital instead of people is a failure for human
existence. System begins to trump living
beings, the Matrix commences. The
quality of a space is, to me, judged by its implications
on relieving harmful power dynamics between active + affected users. Financial
capital is a scale for a type of power highly recognized by our commerce-based
society, and this scale is only relevant when compared to the available capital
of another human; it separates individuals based on theoretical constructs
(money as capital). At the city-scale, this
theoretical construct now is the active constructor of our physical environment
and governs how we use it. Yikes.
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| "This is how itll all look once everyone acts like they're supposed to." This is a row of rental houses where gardening was not allowed. |
An tactic the city has taken to improve the amount of money circulating (and secondly, quality of life) is to become a creative jobs hub, fitting given the large amount of young idealistic college-educated dogooder folks who came down after Katrina. This approach of emphasizing a "creative class" has had wide-ranging effects for many, and seems to rely heavily upon changing the makeup of the city's inhabitants instead of improving the lives of the current residents. It seems to be believed that the newcomers know how to live in a more desirable way, and their presence will generate economic prosperity, connected to "green" living and good health. Richard Florida + many New Urbanist-types
seem to think that the creative class demographic's economic weight will be the saving grace of cities dehumanized
and crippled by sprawl and disconnection between citizens and the decisions affecting them. However, attempting to create a socially responsible, green, "livable" city through financial investment and from-the-top decision-making seems like a paradox. I disagree with this new classism’s
approach… in the meantime, check out this draft of Opportunities and Tensions in Post-Katrina “BrainGain”by UNO professors Marla Nelson and Renia Ehrenfreucht.
A few days ago a friend grabbed my attention by insinuating
that the fence around Jackson Square’s green space was put up in the 70’s as a
means to control hippy protestors. This
could be the point that I delve into a history of Duncan Square, homeless
encampments, and the Occupy movement, but instead lets fish up a bit of
architectural history...
If the New
Orleans government and the American Planning Association are to be trusted,
the fence in its current form was constructed at Jackson Square since the 1850’s,
after standing in disrepair for years.
“It was Micaela Almonester Pontalba, the Baroness Pontalba, who financed a redesign of the park around 1850 and lobbied to rename the square after President and General Andrew Jackson, the hero of the 1814 Battle of New Orleans. The design called for an iron fence, formal gardens, walkways, benches and a bronze statue by sculptor Clark Mills of Jackson on horseback.
The Baroness’ redesign of Jackson Square was not entirely selfless, as it increased the rental value of her townhouses.”
Ahh, incentives of personal gain filtering down to great public spaces… I wonder if
LSU will fence off the planned green space where the Lower Mid-City’s Grand
Palace Hotel was imploded?**
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| Jackson Square, 1895 image from New Orleans Public Library collection. note fence in foreground |
Many of the parks in New Orleans were originally surrounded by high iron
fences, until 1904 when many were removed.
I haven't found much about this movement to open up park space, but it intrigues me. Maybe we could learn from it. The fence around Jackson Square (then just a central green space) remained,
as well as the fence surrounding Washington Square Park, which was constructed
around the same time (1853), and still stands. In keeping with the theme of privatization and regulation of space, there is a new law proposed where Jackson Square would be closed from 1am to 5am, with those who sit in the area liable to be arrested, fined, and jailed.
Chartres, St Ann, and St Peter streets were closed off in 1971, slate
flagstone ground cover was installed, and the original grassy Jackson Square
was made more accessible. This move may
have simply accentuated the imposing iron fence surrounding the park, leading to the rumor of the fence coming up in the 70's to deter hippies. Streets act
as a form of barrier quite often, and the fence around the park may have been
less noticeable before the whole space became amenable for pedestrian
hangouts. Kind of like how one doesn’t
notice the gated communities of the Metairie Country Club when standing in
Hollygrove, because the neighborhood is first-off separated from its affluent
neighbors by the 17th Street (Palmetto) Canal and highly-trafficked
Airline Highway.
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*this article touches on the idea that much of the informal and
long-functioning cultural traditions of New Orleans came about without – and perhaps
sometimes as a confrontational response to – regulations. Is more regulation going to kill real music
here, pushing it further towards RIAA cookiecutter for-profit-not-for-passion vibes?
Is there a point at which regulatory agencies have passed so many edicts that
creative navigation around to them – the backbone of many cultural practices
around the world – is shut off? In a passionate article about music
ordinances in the French Quarter, defense attorney Carol A Kolinchak points
to a synthesis of economic exploitation and property-owner NIMBYism :
"They'll hire these same people to play at their inauguration events, but they punish them for playing in the same spots that got them to where they are"
**this implosion was preceded by several delays, due to some interesting public purpose/eminent domain details, concerning the future value of the parcel. More soon. with more pictures.
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http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/new-orleans-music-laws/Content?oid=2106151
http://affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/2012/11/conformitys-grandfather.html