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Local independent businesses play a fundamental role in the community. Yet in the aftermath of large-scale disaster they are often overlooked, and the suffering of individual local business owners has historically received scant attention.

This report, however, puts local businesses at the forefront. Focusing on the impact the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill had on independent businesses in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, we sought to answer several questions. Download “My Heart is Tied Up in This Place: Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Plaquemines Parish’s Local Businesses”

The study was made possible with generous funding from the Committee for Plaquemines Recovery and the blue moon fund.

The February 23, 2012 Delta Discussion Group briefing was convened by The Urban Conservancy, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy, and Gulf Restoration Network. Since May 2010, the Delta Discussion Group has served as a participatory forum for a diverse group of scientists, academics, environmentalists, industry experts, artists, writers, NGOs, business owners and others in Southeast Louisiana affected by, documenting, and working to find long-term solutions to the BP drilling disaster, coastal restoration, and a sustainable Gulf ecosystem. Summary reports of previous DDG meetings are located here.

DOWNLOAD The Delta Discussion Group’s FEBRUARY 23, 2012 SUMMARY REPORT

PANEL PRESENTATIONS, DOCUMENTS & LINKS

FEBRUARY 23, 2012: TARGETED STAKEHOLDER BRIEFING, LOUISIANA’S 2012 COASTAL MASTER PLAN
KIRK RHINEHART, “Chief of Planning for the CPRA”: February 23, 2012: Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan- Targeted Stakeholder Briefing

FEBRUARY 23, 2012: DEEPWATER HORIZON EARLY RESTORATION PHASE I: NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT DRUE BANTA, “Office of the Governor, Counsel for Coastal Activities”: February 23, 2012: Deepwater Horizon Early Restoration Phase I

DEEPWATER HORIZON NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
MARK DAVIS, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy
DRUE BANTA, Office of the Governor

Powerpoint Presentation Download file
Participating in Natural Resource Damage Assessment & Restoration
NRDA in Action: How the Public Has Helped Shape Natural Resource Restoration
Deepwater Horizon NRDA Early Restoration Download file
Louisiana Deepwater Horizon NRDA Process Download file

February 23, 2012 Delta Discussion Group meeting at Longue Vue House and Gardens. Photo credit Hilairie Schackai.

LOUISIANA MASTER PLAN 2012 UPDATE
LESLIE SUAZO, Office of Coastal Protection & Restoration
UPDATED 7/11:Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan Master Plan Public Meeting Schedule Download file

New Orleans’ iconic Canal Street is confronted with a cultural and economic dilemma over how to market itself as a vibrant destination for residents, among them newcomers attracted to the live-work-play lifestyle that mixed-use corridors like Canal Street naturally offer. The key to redeveloping Canal Street is to place emphasis on local economic vitality over ephemeral development fads and imported business. Download file

On Thursday, June 23, 2011, 76 coastal citizens of Louisiana and Mississippi participated in Getting It Done Together: The Public’s Role in Shaping Our Coast’s Future, organized by the UC and the Delta Discussion Group at Longue Vue House & Gardens in New Orleans. Read the full report here. Download file

LOUISIANA MASTER PLAN 2012 UPDATE
LESLIE SUAZO, Office of Coastal Protection & Restoration
UPDATED 7/11:Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan Master Plan Public Meeting Schedule Download file

CRITICAL LEGISLATION FOR COASTAL RESTORATION
AMANDA MOORE, National Wildlife Federation

Powerpoint Presentation Download file
NWF Participating in Oil Spill Response & Coastal Restoration Download file
NWF Restore the Gulf Coast Download file
Clean Water Act BP Penalties Download file

GULF OF MEXICO ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION TASK FORCE CITIZEN ADVISORY COUNCIL
CYNTHIA SARTHOU, Gulf Restoration Network

Powerpoint Presentation Download file
Gulf Future: A Unified Action Plan for a Healthy Gulf

The Delta Discussion Group briefing was convened by The Urban Conservancy and the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy. Since May 2010, the Delta Discussion Group has served as a participatory forum for a diverse group of scientists, academics, environmentalists, industry experts, artists, writers, NGOs, business owners and others in Southeast Louisiana affected by, documenting, and working to find long-term solutions to the BP drilling disaster, coastal restoration, and a sustainable Gulf ecosystem.

The Delta Discussion Group met on January 25, 2011, in New Orleans to discuss Emerging Gulf Priorities. A summary report is availalble. Download file

See the cover.
Pages 1 -14.
Pages 15-25.

To request hard copies of the entire 80-page publication, contact us at info@staylocal.org or call 504-561-7484.

Summary of Findings

The Urban Conservancy and the New Orleans Institute @ City-Works convened over seventy academics, activists, non-profit leaders, and local community leaders living and working in the New Orleans-region on May 25, 2010. The group called for concerted action and vigilance in addressing the economic, social and environmental implications of the British Petroleum Offshore Drilling Disaster (BPODD) that continues to spew unlimited volumes of oil and other contaminants into the Gulf of Mexico only a few miles off the shore of the southeastern coast of the United States. Read the summary and the complete report here.

Read about next steps here.

Rising from Ruins tells the story of how New Orleans’ local businesses led the city’s recovery post-Katrina. The film is also about The Urban Conservancy’s mission to create a strong network of independent businesses through its Stay Local! project. Rising from Ruins is now available for free at Snag Films.

Watch more free documentaries

This 2009 collaboration between The Urban Conservancy and Civic Economics shows that compared to leading chain competitors, local New Orleans retailers generate twice the annual sales, recirculate revenues within the local economy at twice the rate, and on a per square foot basis, have four times the economic impact while consuming a fraction of the land. Read the report.

With the release of Faking Groceries [PDF], the Urban Conservancy documents the stalled Albertson’s development in Central City and the lessons it can provide New Orleans as it weighs the Wal-Mart component of the St. Thomas Redevelopment.

City and Community is an academic journal dedicated to publishing research and theory that explore the social aspects of the metropolis. In August 2004, City and Community published three articles exploring the controversial redevelopment of the St. Thomas housing development in New Orleans.

In the first article, Framing the Urban: Struggles Over Hope VI and New Urbanism in an Historic City [PDF], James R. Elliott, Kevin Fox Gotham, and Melinda J. Milligan use the concept of framing to analyse community responses to the development of the St. Thomas Wal-Mart in New Orleans.

In their response [PDF], Ed Melendez and Geoff Coats argue that while they are intrigued by the analysis laid out in a previous article, they believe readers will benefit from a more complete view of the issues at play “in the trenches” of New Orleans’ unique landscape: the historic and political context, the subtexts of race and economics in this case as well as similar disputes (of which there are many), and a broadening of understanding of the frames deployed in this struggle beyond simply “New Urbanism.”

Finally, the original authors respond [PDF] to Melendez and Coats.

Written for The Rogue, Wal-Mart: The Nature of the Problem explores the choice facing New Orleans as the community debates the introduction of a Super Wal-Mart into the urban core of the city. The focus is on the long-term economic impact of the development.