Raising New Orleans: The Marais Design Strategy

Abstract

New Orleans, Louisiana, is an iconic American city that is located in one of the most dynamic deltaic environments in the world. Called “The Accidental City” by author Lawrence Powell, New Orleans provides a case study for all of south Louisiana, as well as cities around the world that are increasingly threatened by sea level rise as to how settlement can continue in such a precarious location. In this chapter, we show a design proposal for elevating the city of New Orleans as an adaptive course of action. Our two-part strategy begins by reinforcing the lake front edge of New Orleans, along Lake Ponchartrain using infill to extend the higher, buildable ground. The higher ground would be fronted by a new cypress swamp and urban edge. The second part of the strategy aims to build a series of levee-like structures called polders by the Dutch, although we use the French term, “marais,” across the city by following existing infrastructure. The design proposal further develops edge and fill tactics to complete an elevation of the city, in whole or part.