Final Review of "Why New Orleans Matters"

      In my final assessment of Why New Orleans Matters, I will look at the final 2 chapters and also the "afterword" section in which Piazza gives the reader an update of the situation from 2008.  My overall opinion of the book is that it is an effective defense of the city of New Orleans against those who felt the city not be rebuilt as it once was.  There were calls in the aftermath of Katrina if not rebuilding New Orleans as it was and instead starting over.
      Throughout the book, Piazza talks about the importance of keeping New Orleans' spirit alive the devastation.  In the last chapter, he talks about the need of a "bottom-up approach" to restore the city.  That means relying on the fact that "the things that make New Orleans attractive to the people who have supported the tourist industry for all these years, not to mention to the people who live there and pay its taxes, is that it is not a theme park."  The most important point he makes is that New Orleans "has always had, and still has, a unique flavor that comes from hundreds of years of slowly mutating culture."  Rebuilding what was there before the storm and getting people back into their homes is the most important thing.  
       Piazza also talks about the opinions from outsiders to start clean.  He calls it the "top-down approach," basically starting over.  The idea that New Orleans was a flawed city from the start, being build below sea level, too many poor people, etc.  Piazza discredits this viewpoint a lot during the final pages of the book, talking about the loss of one of the most unique cities in the world.  The uncertainty of the future is apparent when realizing the book was written mere months after Katrina.  He provides an "afterword" section from 2008 that updates the reader on New Orleans.  Some good has been done, but he talks about the issues of demolishing affordable housing projects that housed so many, and not building anything to replace them.  Also, he talks about the few attempts from the federal government to get involved.  He voices his frustration about the fact that the devastation from Katrina was a man-made disaster.  The hurricane was extremely damaging, but did not cause the flooding, the faulty levee system was to blame.  He mentions that the work to fix the levees have been patchwork and is opened up for another disaster down the road.  
       Why New Orleans Matters is a great book for someone who loves the city of New Orleans, an affirmation of the importance of the city.  For someone who has never thought much about New Orleans, except when seeing the coverage of Katrina 5 years ago, reading this book is a great way to learn about the unique style of the city.  The people of New Orleans have a distinct viewpoint on life: enjoy today, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.