Urban Form and Social Relationships

The Lower Ninth Ward is set up on a grid system, with St. Claude Avenue being the main thoroughfare. Though this form is characteristic of many cities and urban communities, the area still has somewhat of a suburban feel because of the grassy areas and proximity to the water. I have a feeling that this grid set up spurred a deep sense of community pre-Katrina, since the houses are small and close together - there are no long winding roads separating any parts of the community.

Post-Katrina, however, the landscape of the community has changed significantly. You can tell that the houses were once close together because patches of them are still lined up in perfect rows. Now, though, there are patches of empty space filled only with tall grass where houses once stood. This must severely damage the deep sense of community that the Lower Ninth was so famous for. Anytime houses are farther apart from each other, people are less likely to simply "stop by" next door , as a sense of distance is established. It seems that, in the wake of Katrina, the new community landscape discourages the kinds of friendly, neighborly relationships that the old landscape once fostered.

The main centers for community activity seem to be the churches, which we found packed full of well dressed men and women on a Sunday morning. Outside of the churches, there does not seem to be much in the way of a community gathering place. The library/community center burned down recently. The building now is half in tact and half melted to a core. Even still, the community center was not in the heart of the community like the churches are, which makes me wonder if it was ever even a true "meeting place" before it was destroyed.

Despite this, it is clear that there is a deep sense of community in the area. Residents can be seen sitting on porches, often talking to people passing by. It appears as though neighbors do congregate by certain houses, so it is important to understand that the change in social atmosphere has not completely ruined the sense of community. That being said, for every gathering of people in front of a house there is an abandoned area of tall grass that discourages any kind of social relationship in the area.