I'm actually unsure of where I'm supposed to be in the book so I think I'll leave my last post to be a little more content based. Anyways, I was really interested in our discussions in class about why the city of New Orleans was built where it is. I mean, not only are you below sea level, but you are building in a high risk area for hurricanes! Some of the things I was reading led me to believe that the issue of being below sea level got worse over time, but according to this article, there were levees in place as early as the 17th century. If that is indeed the case, then they were well aware of the dangers that existed with their chosen location.
With all of that, though, the location did bring a lot of potential benefits. Its proximity to such a large body of water and major river aided the movement of goods and people alike throughout its early years. I suppose it's both good and bad, as its port made for a prominent destination for slave traders as well.
Despite this, the impact of humans really has been detrimental to the state of the city. A lot of blame is pointed at the levees. Before their construction, sediment from the Mississippi River would continually build new land on top of what was being washed out by the flow which maintained a steady height above sea level. The levees that are put in place to control flooding actually prevent sediment from building up, forcing it to wash out to the sea and allowing the water levels to rise to dangerous levels unless bigger or better levees are built.
Mike Tidwell points the blame at human hands as well, claiming that the flooding of the river naturally maintains the structure of the soil. The alluvial soil that is present in the waters compacts as it is pressurized causing land mass to sink.
So basically, New Orleans was built because it was super-duper convenient. And that's a great reason to build a city in a set location. The issue was not the location though, it was the attempts at controlling the nature of that habitat that led to unsafe living conditions. One of the articles I read pointed in the direction of The Control of Nature by John Mcphee which touches on an attempt to redirect the Mississippi River.
love matty!
Richard
4 years ago
You found some interesting information about the location of New Orleans. I was also wondering about the city of New Orleans and where it was built. Probably the main reason for its location was the ports and the connection to the rivers. Before there were automobiles, moving by water was one of the modes of transportation. The ocean and rivers also provided resources and helped people in barter transactions. The major body of water is still used today for their fishing and businesses as well.
ReplyDeleteFor the levees, it looks like they were built for the safety of the people of the New Orleans but turns out to be bad for the land. If the levees were never built, the city would have been above sea level and not have the tendency to flood during hurricanes. It seemed like every time humans try to fix something, it backfires on them in the long run. Maybe that tells them to leave the land alone and let nature deal with it. Don’t fix something that’s not broken. I guess it’s too late because the levees have already been built and the land already tampered with. The only thing they can do now is modify their mistakes.