A panel of Wayne State University experts will examine the prospect of rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina on Friday, Sept. 16, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., at the Student Center Building – Hilberry A, B, C, on the main campus in Detroit. Eight panelists representing various disciplines will participate in a campus dialogue titled “Building New Orleans: The Issues, the Challenges and the Opportunities,” sponsored by Wayne State’s department of geography and urban planning.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction to many coastal communities in Mississippi and Louisiana, and the devastating flooding of New Orleans, federal and local governments are now turning to experts for answers to tough questions about the future of this region and the profound implications the catastrophe may have on the nation, its cities and society.

Among topics and questions to be explored during the event, which is free and open to the general public, are:

     • What does the federal, state and local response reveal about disaster management?

     • What does the flooding and coastal destruction tell about the nexus of the natural and the built environment?

     • What does the rescue mission suggest about the treatment of class, race and poverty in urban America?

     • What do the media images and stories relate about the reporting of events on this scale?

     • What does the evacuation of New Orleans say about the fragility of social order?

     • What is the price of history?

     • Should New Orleans be rebuilt as it was, and in the same location?

     • Who should, and who can, pay for urban reconstruction on this scale?

Panelists include: Robin Boyle, professor of urban planning and chair of the department of geography and urban planning; Dale Brandenburg, research professor, instructional technology, College of Education; George Galster, Clarence B. Hilberry Professor of Urban Affairs; Carol Miller, professor of civil engineering; Kristine Miranne, director, Skillman Center for Children; Rayman Mohamed, assistant professor of urban planning; Professor Matthew Seeger, department of communication chair; Professor Larry Lemke, department of geology; and Carmen Echols, Wayne State University School of Medicine student.

For further information, contact Prof. Boyle at: (313) 577-5071. Lunch will be provided for the first 100 attendees.
Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.