Question 3

3- How did Hurricane Katrina affect the spatial placement of blacks, whites, and peoples of different income levels?

"Instead of water flooding in, we've got people flooding in."
~ Mike Walker, of the East Baton Rouge Parish Council

It has long been known that the placement of blacks and the poor in New Orleans place them directly in the line of fire of natural disasters, while the richer residents of the city live on higher grounds such as the French Quarter. When Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans announced a mandatory evacuation just before Hurricane Katrina, a majority of the ethnic minorities and the poor in the city did not have access to a television or radio to know that there even was an evacuation. In a survey by the Kaiser Foundation of a group of evacuees in Houston, Texas, 56% of them could have found a way to evacuate if they had.
What followed would be a displacement greater than many historical events, such as the 350,000 left homeless by the Kobe Earthquake in 1995. It was the largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War. Hurricane Katrina uprooted more people from their homes in a few days than the Dust Bowl did in the 1930's. More than half a million people were displaced from their homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Evacuees were moved to shelters in a seven-state region-Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. People went to sports arenas, hotels, churches, schools, or the homes of relatives or friends.
Currently, a worry of growing concern relating to the reconstruction of New Orleans is whether or not minorities and the poor will be included in the new city plan for New Orleans. Urban planners and city developers have the power to cancel blacks out of the equation, for many simply cannot afford returning back to New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina hit, the city was for the most part black- 67%. Now, it may be close to none.