In New Orleans after Katrina there was a serious problem redeveloping lower income neighborhoods. Residents were either uninsured or underinsured. According to a planner who worked there, the typical insurance settlement in the Lower Ninth Ward was approximately $40k less than it would cost to rebuild. Additionally, FEMA settlements often don't cover all these expenses and, because they're given almost immediately after a storm, much of the FEMA money is spent replacing vehicles, staying in hotels, and addressing immediate needs.

So what to do? In New Orleans, residents worked with a handful of nonprofit organizations to leverage private funds and grant money to help rebuild certain areas of the city. These areas focused on visionary sustainable design ideas that created structures more efficient and more resilient than what was there before. This kind of investment in these lower income neighborhoods makes for a greater sense of pride in the area and actually helps to promote a safer more community-based neighborhood.

We could use a similar vision here in Tuscaloosa. A friend of mine who is an architect out of town suggested the following:

"The best way to rally support from the community and potential clients, counterbalance the arguments by developers that sustainability isn't affordable, convince folks to stay in town, and show the planning committee that sustainable, low-income housing is possible on a realistic timeline is to build a demonstration model.

Hold a competition for a two-bedroom home using locally sourced materials. It should be energy-efficient, respectful of the local vernacular, and incorporate a tornado shelter or "safe room", and cost no more than about $50,000. Have the competition for a month, 45 days, no more than sixty."

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