城市韧性与新奥尔良的复兴

Urban Resilience and the Recovery of New Orleans

文章从"城市韧性",即城市从毁灭中恢复的能力这一角度思考最近在新奥尔良发生的灾难。基于各种历史案例,作者认为城市韧性很大程度上取决于城市居民的韧性和可调动资源的能力。卡特里娜飓风不仅摧毁了新奥尔良的建成环境,而且通过强迫大规模的居民疏散,撕裂了城市的社会结构。重建城市物质基础设施的规划必须伴随着恢复社会组织和公民网络的努力。只有草根层面的强大的市民参与,新奥尔良的重建才能产生一个强健的、包容的大都市,而不是一个主题公园。

This article considers the recent catastrophe in New Orleans in terms of ＂urban resilience＂, the capacity of a city to rebound from destruction. Based on a variety of historical examples, I argue that urban resilience is largely a function of resilient and resourceful citizens. Hurricane Katrina not only devastated the built environment of New Orleans but, by forcing a massive evacuation of residents, tore apart its social fabric as well. I maintain that plans to rebuild the physical infrastructure of the city must be accompanied by a commitment to rehabilitate its social fabric and communal networks. Only with strong citizen involvement at the grassroots level will the rebuilding of New Orleans yield a robust and inclusive metropolis, rather than a theme-park shadow of its former self.