On Thursday March 28 there will be a public speaking lecture by Kristina Ford. Ford was the New Orleans director of planning from 1992 until 2000. Hurricane Katrina and Rita hit the city in 2005 with devastating effects – that the city is still recovering from today – after the levees built to protect the city from flooding failed.
Ford has been in a unique position to use her experience to engage discussions and write a book on the realities of city planning. In The Trouble with City Planning, she uses the experience of rebuilding New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as a case study on why city planners are in trouble, and what they can do about it.
Governments today are trying to deal with the very real future problems of sea-level rise and increased storm frequencies in coastal areas. Most of us know of the tragic failure of multiple levels of government in New Orleans to respond adequately to the disaster, compounding the losses caused by nature and the failure of engineering. The town of Sackville could benefit from her advice as the Tantramar region, the province of New Brunswick and the other Maritime Provinces deal with many of the issues faced by New Orleans.
Ford holds a Ph.D in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, and was, until her full-time entry into public service in 1983, associate professor in the Graduate School of Public Administration at New York University. From 2010 to 2011, Ford was chief of staff for New Orleans’ deputy mayor in charge of public facilities, infrastructure and community development. She is currently a Professor in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York City.
I was able to sit down with Ford for an exclusive interview on adaptation planning issues specific to the Tantramar region, look for it in the March 27, 2013 edition of the Sackville Tribune Post This event is sponsored by Mount Allison’s Department of Geography and Environment and RCE (Regional Centre of Expertise) Tantramar.
The talk will take place at 7:00 pm in the Dunn Building, room 113 – The Wu Centre at Mt A.
