Those of you that have been regular readers of this forum for more than a couple of years know that I have been praising the transformation of the Architecture Program at Tulane since Katrina. This NPR story captures it all very nicely, I think. I strongly recommend listening to it rather than just reading it, as a couple of the voices are very powerful.
I was talking to my D last night as she was hunkered down in her apartment in Taipei, Taiwan. Those of you that follow the news know that Typhoon Soudelor just roared through there. Of course that got us talking about how it was coming up on the 10th anniversary of Katrina and how much has changed. It’s always a funny conversation with anyone that has a stake in New Orleans when discussing Katrina. No one would wish the series of events that happened to have happened if they could have stopped it, but it is undeniable that without Katrina the amazing number of positives that continue to develop would never have happened, both to the city and to Tulane. The Architecture story is a great example, but it is only one of many. Overall Katrina didn’t just have a silver lining, I would have to say it was pure platinum.